Worldwide trends and shortcomings in the treatment of hypertension

Despite advances in the availability and quality of antihypertensive medications and the institution of national programs to educate people about the seriousness of hypertension, much remains to be done. The percentages of people who are aware of their disease, are being treated for it, and are achieving adequate control of their blood pressure (BP) are disconcertingly low worldwide; surveys in numerous countries have consistently shown that fewer than 60% of affected people are being treated for hypertension and fewer than 30% have their BP adequately controlled. Reluctance on the part of many physicians to use antihypertensive therapy aggressively may be an impediment to improving these numbers. Further clinical trials are needed to assess the extent to which BP could be lowered safely and effectively with both single-agent and combination therapies.