About 12 million people with hypertension in Vietnam
Novartis Vietnam Ltd., an affiliate of Novartis, a global healthcare company coordinated with Vietnam National Heart Association (VNHA) to organize the "Hypertension management program" conference in HCMC on May 22.
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| Novartis Vietnam Ltd., an affiliate of Novartis, a global healthcare company coordinated with Vietnam National Heart Association (VNHA) to organize the "Hypertension management program" conference in HCMC on May 22. (Photo: VNHA) |
This conference provides medical knowledge regarding diagnosis and hypertension and serves as the beginning of a series of meaningful activities on World Hypertension Day and the MMM 2024 (May Month Measurement 2024) Community Hypertension Screening and Management Program initiated by the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and implemented by the Vietnam Society of Hypertension (VSH), lasting until October 2024.
The conference is also an opportunity to concretize Novartis' efforts in improving community health and enhancing the counseling capacity of pharmacists, jointly working with pharmacy chain partners to be ready to join the Community Hypertension Control Program according to ISH standards.
Sharing about the importance of pharmacists in advising patients with hypertension, Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Minh stated: "Hypertension is a very common issue within Vietnamese community, and each of us can be a candidate for this problem. Although it is not an infectious disease, the complications associated with organ damage caused by hypertension, such as brain stroke, heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmias, and visual impairment, should not be ignored.
Besides the role of doctors, pharmacists are currently being recognized and play a significant collaborative role in helping people enhance their awareness and ensure adherence to the best treatment, contributing to the protection, care, and improvement of community health."
During the conference, the training committee comprising Dr. Huynh Van Minh, President of the Vietnam National Heart Association, and Dr. Nguyen Van Thao, Director of the Cardio Hypertension Center, practiced measuring and recording ISH standard blood pressure and counseling hypertensive patients.
This activity served as both support and specialized training for the pharmacist team to enhance their expertise and professionalism in the process of examining and counseling hypertensive patients. This creates more opportunities for people nationwide to undergo screening and management for hypertension, thereby avoiding potential risks of the disease.
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| Medical staff member checks blood pressure for people in Long An province. (Photo: baolongan.vn) |
"The hypertension management program conference as the kick-off of a series of activities on World Hypertension Day and the MMM 2024 Community Hypertension Screening and Management Program is a testament of our endeavors to improve community health and enhance the counseling capacity of pharmacists. Together with our partner, we are committed to participating in Novartis' ISH-standard Community Hypertension Control," shared Ms. Karina Ng, Country President of Novartis Vietnam.
Hypertension is also known as the "silent killer" since it does not often exhibit early warning signs or symptoms, and some individuals may not even be aware that they have the disease. In addition, hypertension also creates a social burden, lowers labor productivity and potential workforce, while seriously affecting the economy. To address the challenges and unmet needs of patients in Vietnam, there is a need for priority strategies and solutions to address this situation.
Hypertension is becoming increasingly common worldwide, including in Vietnam. Anyone is at risk of hypertension, including children and young adults. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide have hypertension, and it is responsible for an estimated 9.4 million deaths each year.
In Vietnam, there are about 12 million people with hypertension, with a ratio of 1 in 5 adults being affected. Of these, there is a relatively high proportion of patients who have not been diagnosed with the disease or have been diagnosed but have not yet controlled it.
