A Review on the Status of Hypertension in Six Southeast Asian Countries

Hypertension (HTN) is the most common chronic disease in both developed and developing countries and is a major public health concern affecting adults. It is the leading cause of mortality and disability-adjusted life year all over the world, causes more cardiovascular deaths than any other modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, and is the second only to smoking as a preventable cause of mortality.[1-2] In the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of more than 23,000 subjects, more than 50% of deaths from chronic heart disease and stroke occurred among patients with elevated blood pressure (BP). Approximately 1 billion people were estimated to be hypertensive in 2000, and most of these identified to be hypertensive live in lower and middle-income countries.[3-4] There have been several measures done to control elevations in BP, and while in developed countries, the prevalence of HTN appears to be stabilizing, the rates in the Southeast Asian region continues to rise. Southeast Asia is a subregion in Asia consisting of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and East Timor. About a third of adults in the region have HTN and nearly 1.5 million deaths are attributed to HTN annually.[5] It represents an important public health issue, as this is partly due in part to absent or poor disease management, with rates of uncontrolled HTN as high as 70%.[6] This paper looks at the different status of HTN prevalence, awareness, and control strategy available in six countries in SEA.