India Hypertension Control Initiative:
According to a project called the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI), nearly 23% out of 2.1 million Indians have uncontrolled blood pressure.
- Managing blood pressure for 2.5 crore individuals can prevent up to five lakh deaths due to cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years.
Hypertension:
- Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the body’s arteries, the major blood vessels in the body.
- Hypertension is when blood pressure is too high.
- It is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg or/and taking anti-hypertensive medication to lower his/her blood pressure.
- Southern States have a higher prevalence of hypertension than the national average.
- Kerala (32.8% men and 30.9% women) has the highest number followed by Telangana.
- 21.3% of women and 24% of men aged above 15 have hypertension in the country.
- In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a new guideline on the pharmacological treatment of hypertension in adults.
- The publication provides evidence-based recommendations for the initiation of treatment of hypertension, and recommended intervals for follow-up.
IHCI:
- The programme was launched in November 2017.
- In the first year, IHCI covered 26 districts across five States — Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
- By December 2020, IHCI was expanded to 52 districts across ten States — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.
- The Health Ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research, State Governments, and WHO-India began a five-year initiative to monitor and treat hypertension.
- India has committed to a “25 by 25” goal.
- The goal aims to reduce premature mortality due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.
- One of the nine voluntary targets includes reducing the prevalence of high blood pressure by 25% by 2025
