2010 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations An annual update

摘要

Hypertension is one of the biggest health issues facing our country. In 2007, 5.7 million Canadians were diagnosed with hypertension and more than 5 million of them were using pharmacotherapy to treat their hypertension.1 For the last decade, hypertension has been the leading diagnosis for adult visits to physicians, and the proportion of total visits to physicians for hypertension is increasing.2 The World Health Organization has indicated that increased blood pressure is the leading risk factor for death, predicting an epidemic of hypertension, and is advocating prevention and treatment programs as a priority.3'4 In 2000, there were more than 7 million deaths worldwide attributed to suboptimal blood pressure, and increased blood pressure is estimated to consume 10% of health care costs in developed countries such as Canada.