World Hypertension Day (WHD) promotes its theme Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer! with the goal of increasing high blood pressure (BP) awareness, and especially accuracy in BP Measurement, toward effective treatment of hypertension for a healthy, longer life. Raised blood pressure is the biggest single contributing risk factor to global health, and hypertension awareness and effective control has become even more crucial during the COVID-19 era.
In 2019 the WHL issued the Sao Paulo CALL TO ACTION for the global prevention and control of high blood pressure, click here for abbreviated version and key takeaways. This year the Call to Action for Hypertension Control in Africa, the most challenging area in the world, will be launched during Hypertension Week. Let’s implement the calls and action now!
We are happy to announce our 2021 Excellence Award Winners on World Hypertension Day, for their stellar contributions to Global Hypertension Control and Control. Additionally, close to 200 posters from around the globe were received in this year’s Children’s Art Contest and will be posted on the WHL website during World Hypertension Week.
Thank you to our partners the Coalition for Access to NCD Medicines and Products and the International Society of Nephrology for joint statements of support issued on World Hypertension Day. Please join joint debates and webinars with the World Stroke Organization on May 20th , with the Pan- American Health Organization (PAHO) on May 21, and with the World Heart Federation on May 27th.
An important initial step to control hypertension and help achieve the United Nations 2025 goal of a 25% reduction in uncontrolled hypertension is to improve hypertension diagnosis. To increase awareness of hypertension diagnosis, WHD promotes three critical components: (1) share hypertension messaging and resources on social media (2) promote routine and accurate measurement of BP by health‐care professionals at all clinical encounters (3) promote access to blood pressure screenings and low-cost blood pressure medications.
To contribute to accuracy in BP measurement, the WHL promotes several global initiatives: