Antihypertensive strategies and hypertension control in Sub-Saharan Africa

contribution All authors made substantial contributions. MAn and XJ had full access to the whole data in the study and take responsibility for integrity of the data and accuracy of data analysis. They take responsibility for all aspects of the reliability and freedom from bias of presented data and their discussed interpretation. Study concept and design: MA, IBD, XJ. Responsible for data collection: IBD, KEK, IAT, DMB, BF, MDH, MSI, AK, SGKK, SK, CKK, LMK, CN, EL, JLT, JBM, ASA, RN, AD, JMD. Interpretation of data: all authors. Statistical analysis: PC, of the manuscript: revision of the manuscript for intellectual content: MAn, MAz, GST, XJ. approval of the version be published: all authors. High blood pressure (BP) is the main contributor to the global burden of chronic disease, reaching 10 million deaths each year. 1 In Africa, 130.2 million people suffer from hypertension and this figure is expected to reach 216.8 million by 2030. 2 A combination of lifestyle modification and BP-lowering medications is the cornerstone of hypertension control. Even though antihypertensive medications reduce hypertension-related complications, large-scale data on their use in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce. 3 Furthermore, most studies in SSA are limited to single countries or centers. 4 We aimed to describe BP control and antihypertensive drug strategies using a large multinational study conducted in 12 SSA countries: the EIGHT Study (Evaluation of Hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa). 5 We conducted an observational cross-sectional study using data collected during outpatient consultations for hypertension in cardiology departments of 29 hospitals from 17 cities across 12 SSA countries. The EIGHT study was conceived by a multidisciplinary collaborative team of epidemiologists, cardiologists and pharmacists from Africa and France.