World Hypertension Day prompts awareness initiatives

World Hypertension Day, observed May 17, has inspired several initiatives to help people understand their BP and get it under control.

The American Heart Association and American Medical Association are supporting the Know Your Numbers campaign to encourage more people to monitor BP levels and control hypertension. Of the 85 million U.S. adults with hypertension, 45.6% do not have it under control, according to a press release from the AMA.

“Heart disease not only has a devastating impact on patients and their families, but it also creates an enormous financial ripple effect across the entire health care system,” Andrew W. Gurman, MD, president of the AMA, said in the release. “On World Hypertension Day, the AMA continues to focus on millions of Americans who have uncontrolled hypertension. We know that by empowering more patients to monitor and control their [BP], we will help improve outcomes for patients and reduce health care costs.”

The AHA and AMA launched the Target: BP initiative in 2016 to prioritize BP control and reduce the incidence of MI and stroke, as a 10% increase in the number of people treated for hypertension would save 14,000 lives per year, according to the release.

The AHA as part of its #CheckIt campaign and National High Blood Pressure Education Month is encouraging people to check their BP on World Hypertension Day.

In conjunction with World Hypertension Day, Novartis Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and its partners announced Better Hearts Better Cities, an initiative to address high rates of hypertension in low-income urban communities, according to a press release.

“To thrive, cities must become ecosystems of health and wellbeing, where each part works toward the same goal of improving people’s quality of life,” Ann Aerts, head of the Novartis Foundation, said in the release. “No single actor can tackle hypertension alone and multisector innovation is needed. This is the driving force behind Better Hearts Better Cities.”

Novartis Foundation with its partners, including Intel Corporation and the NCD Alliance, will use technology to design a more sustainable health system in selected communities. Better Hearts Better Cities will be tested in three communities: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Dakar, Senegal; and a city in Brazil that will be announced later this year.

“We’re excited to apply our technology expertise and collaborate on novel approaches that help deliver care and significantly lower costs while improving access and increasing quality,” Jennifer Esposito, general manager of global health and life sciences at Intel, said in the release.

The National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention announced a Thunderclap for World Hypertension Day. Thunderclap is a platform that helps organizations amplify their message on social media by recruiting supporters to boost a timed message on social platforms.