A narrative review of 16 Asia-Pacific countries found hypertension prevalence ranging from 10.6% to 48.3%, alongside alarming rates of undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled disease.
There is a high and variable burden of hypertension in the Asia-Pacific region, complicated by significant systemic and cultural barriers to care.
There remains great heterogeneity in the availability of data and approaches in managing hypertension in Asia-Pacific. A narrative review was performed to better understand the epidemiology of hypertension and challenges in hypertension care provision regionally. The data obtained were discussed under five domains: epidemiology; hospitalisation and financial impact; medication prescription; national guidelines, societies and measures; and barriers and challenges in managing hypertension. Sixteen countries were included, with the prevalence of hypertension ranging between 10.6% and 48.3%. Rates of undiagnosed, untreated and uncontrolled hypertension were alarming throughout the region, with various factors from the five major domains contributing to this, such as urbanisation, gender and socioeconomic status. Data on care provision were generally sparse. Although various measures and policies exist in individual countries to help combat hypertension, challenges have also been identified: some are systemic, while others appear more granular and culturally influenced. Collaboration between stakeholders between countries is crucial to effectively tackle these issues.
Shariff et al. (Mon,) conducted a review in Hypertension. A narrative review of 16 Asia-Pacific countries found hypertension prevalence ranging from 10.6% to 48.3%, alongside alarming rates of undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled disease.