Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Contextual View of Patterns of Disease, Best Management, and Systems Issues

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) bears the highest burden of both communicable and noncommunicable disease and has the weakest health systems. Much attention is directed toward a rising burden of chronic disease in the setting of epidemiologic transition and urbanization. Indeed, the highest prevalence of hypertension globally is in the World Health Organization’s African region at 46% of adults aged 25 and above. And while hypertension in SSA is common, its prevalence varies significantly between urban and rural settings. Although there is evidence for epidemiologic transition in urban areas, there is also evidence of static levels of hypertension within rural areas, which comprise more than 70% of the population of SSA. Furthermore, overall cardiovascular (CV) risk in rural areas remains low. The mean age of hypertensives in SSA is approximately 30s to 40s, burdening those at peak productivity. Complications of hypertension are frequent, given the poor levels of awareness and treatment (
Source: Cardiology in Review - Category: Cardiology Tags: Other Invited Review Article Source Type: research