Better Blood Pressure Control Could Save 518,000 Lives
A new study suggests that improving hypertension management could prevent over 500,000 cardiovascular deaths annually across 20 countries. The research highlights significant gaps in preventive healthcare and emphasizes the potential impact of expanding access to standard treatments.
Why it matters
It identifies a major opportunity to reduce global mortality rates through better implementation of existing, cost-effective medical protocols.
BETTER management of high blood pressure could prevent more than half a million cardiovascular deaths each year across 20 countries, according to preliminary research from the US.
The findings highlight substantial gaps in preventive healthcare and suggest that expanding access to established treatments could significantly reduce avoidable deaths across the globe.
Researchers examined six preventive services: blood pressure control, appropriate statin treatment, glucose control in people with diabetes, and screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers.
A total of 20 countries were included in the research, none of which were low-income countries, and were each selected for having the highest numbers of deaths from non-communicable diseases .
Researchers used age- and sex-specific information from international sources, including the Global Burden of Disease network and World Health Organization databases.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in