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New study highlights rise in hypertension prevalence, gaps in treatment
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Take care of your heart: A doctor listens to a patient’s heartbeat. Medical professionals advise getting routine check-ups to assess cardiovascular health and the risk factors associated with it, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, to avoid suffering from sudden cardiac arrest after high-intensity exercise. (Shutterstock/Lee Charlie)
T
he number of people living with high blood pressure in Indonesia has generally increased in the past three decades, but the condition remains largely untreated, according to a recently published international study.
The study was conducted by an international team from Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). The team analyzed blood pressure measurement and treatment data from 1,200 national studies around the globe to find out how hypertension prevalence had changed between 1990 and 2019.
The study, published in medical journal The Lancet on Aug. 24, found that hypertension prevalence for Indonesian women aged between 30 and 79 years old had increased by 12 percent from 32.4 percent in 1990 to 44.5 percent in 2019. Hypertension among men of the same age in the country, meanwhile, also increased from 28.7 percent to 35.9 percent over the same period.
The increase in prevalence was in line with a similar trajectory in the global population during the same timeframe. The study found that as of 2019, some 1.28 billion people were living with hypertension, roughly double the estimated 650 million people who had the same condition in 1990.
High blood pressure is believed to be directly linked to more than 8.5 million deaths each year from stroke, heart and liver diseases globally.
The study estimated that 720 million people with high blood pressure were unaware and did not receive the treatment that they needed.
While the number of people living with high blood pressure has increased in Indonesia, access to healthcare services to treat the condition is still limited. The study found that only 21.4 percent of female patients and 15 percent of male patients in Indonesia were able to receive treatment, leaving Indonesia behind neighboring countries such as Malaysia (45.5 percent for female patients and 40.4 percent for male patients) and the Philippines (42.2 percent for female patients and 28.7 percent for male patients).
