LET’S TALK ABOUT HYPERTENSION

HYPERTENSION IS A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, ONE OF THE FOUR MOST DEADLY NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES1

NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS):

A GROWING GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGE

68% 80%
Whilst the burden of communicable
More than diseases is declining in most LMICs,
the burden of NCDs is rising steadily3
of all deaths globally are
associated with NCDs2
Communicable diseases Non-communicable diseases
X X of premature heart
70.0
disease, stroke
60.0
and diabetes can
50.0 be prevented4
40.0

30.0

20.0
Between 2011 and 2015
10.0 the lost economic
00.0
output related to NCDs
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
will be more than

82% In 2015 NCDs will account for 65%

USD 7 trillion
in LMICs5
of these deaths occur in low- and middle- of all deaths in LMICs and by
income countries (LMICs) 2 2030 more than 71%3

HYPERTENSION:
THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEATH

Hypertension and high blood pressure is

the most common risk factor for mortality: Treating Hypertension
hypertension is a major
12.8% 3.7% is relatively straightforward risk factor
of all deaths of all DALYs globally with both medicines and for coronary heart disease and stroke,
lifestyle changes, yet it is but if detected and managed early,
are associated with poorly controlled both in these life threatening conditions can
raised blood pressure6 HICs and LMICs8 be prevented 6

More than

9.4 million
At
46% Most people
with hypertension
living in LMICs
the African
continent has the don’t know
highest prevalence
people are estimated to die from
of raised blood they have it 8

pressure in the
hypertension and high blood pressure
world6
globally every year. This is equivalent to
all infectious diseases combined7

KEY TERMS

NCDs: Non-communicable diseases
Non-communicable diseases also known as chronic
diseases, are not passed from person to person. They
are of long duration and generally slow progression.
The 4 main types of non-communicable diseases are
cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory
diseases and diabetes.9
LMICs: Low and Middle Income Countries
The term ‘LMICs’ is widely used by the development
and global health community to differentiate between
the economic status’ of different territories and/or
countries. The definition comes from the World Bank.
For the current 2015 fiscal year, low-income economies
are defined as those with a GNI per capita (calculated
using the World Bank Atlas method) of $1,045 or less in
2013; middle-income economies are those with a GNI
per capita of more than $1,045 but less than $12,746;
high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita
of $12,746 or more.10
DALYs: Disability-Adjusted Life Years
One Disability Adjusted Life Year can be thought of as
one lost year of healthy life. The sum of these DALYs
across the population measures the gap between a
current and ideal health situation in which the entire
population is free of disease and disability. DALYs for a
disease are calculated as the sum of the Years of Life
Lost (YLL) due to premature mortality in the population
and the Years Lost due to Disability (YLD) for people
living with the health condition.11
 NOVARTIS FOUNDATION HYPERTENSION
PROGRAM IN GHANA

More than

27.3%
of adults in Ghana have hypertension12

4.1 % of those are controlled13

In Ghana, the Novartis The program links

SMS/voice
Foundation is working with
messaging
for treatment
Community adherence
Members
FHI 360

Private Community CLOUD-BASED

Ghana Health Service Health SYSTEM
Sector
Workers

VOTO Public
Health
System
to implement and evaluate a
reminders and health
community-based to raise awareness of hypertension messaging will empower
to improve diagnosis, treatment and patients with hypertension
program control of the condition

are working with us to

+ = evaluate and measure

the cost effectiveness of the program

The London School of Hygiene School of Public Health at

& Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) the University of Ghana

About the Novartis Foundation

The Novartis Foundation is a philanthropic organization that aims to pioneer innovative healthcare models that have a transformational impact on the health of the poorest populations.
We work hand-in-hand with our local and global partners to accelerate elimination of leprosy and malaria by focusing on interventions that aim to interrupt transmission, and to catalyze
scalable and sustainable healthcare models that improve access and health outcomes. Everything we do is grounded in evidence and innovation, and our work is a continuous cycle of
evaluation, adaptation and application. In 2014, the operational budget for the foundation was CHF 12 million and our programs reached 3.6 million people.

References
1
United Nations, Press release: Reducing Hypertension Critical to Global Action Plan on Tackling Non-communicable Diseases, Secretary-General Says in Message for World Health Day. Available at:
http://www.un.org/press/en/2013/sgsm14922.doc.htm. Last accessed May 2015
2
World Health Organization. Global status report on non-communicable diseases, 2014
3
World Health Organization, Health statistics and information systems: Projections of mortality and causes of death,2015 and 2030. Available at: http://www.who.int/entity/healthinfo/global_bur-
den_disease/GHE_DthWHOReg7_Proj_2015_2030.xls?ua=1 . Last Accessed May 2015. World Health Organization, Health statistics and information systems: Estimates for 2000–2012. Available at:
http://www.who.int/entity/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GHE_DthWBInc_2000_2012.xls?ua=1. Last accessed May 2015.
4
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data: Noncommunicable diseases (NCD). Available at: http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/en/. Last accessed May 2015
5
World Health Organization and WEF, From Burden to “Best Buys”: Reducing the Economic Impact of Non-Communicable Disease in Low-and Middle-Income, 2011. Available at: http://www3.wefo-
rum.org/docs/WEF_WHO_HE_ReducingNonCommunicableDiseases_2011.pdf. Last Accessed May 2015
6
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data: Raised Blood Pressure. Available at: http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/blood_pressure_prevalence_text/en/. Last ac-
cessed May 2015
7
Angell, Sonia Y.; Decock, Kevin M.; Frieden, Thomas R. A public health approach to global management of hypertension. The Lancet, 2015, 385.9970: 825-827. Lim, Stephen S., et al. A comparative
risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.
The lancet, 2013, 380.9859: 2224-2260.
8
Diel Lemogoum, Challenge for Hypertension Prevention and Control Worldwide: The Time for Action. The Journal of Clinical Hypertension August 2008. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/jch.12373/epdf. Last accessed May 2015
9
WHO, Noncommunicable Diseases Factsheet. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs355/en/. Last accessed May 2015
10
The World Bank, Country and Lending Groups. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups. Last accessed May 2015.
11
World Health Organization, Metrics: Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY). Available at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/metrics_daly/en/. Last accessed May 2015.
12
World Health Organization, Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) Country Profiles: Ghana. Available at: http://www.who.int/nmh/countries/gha_en.pdf?ua=1. Last accessed May 2015.
13
Lloyd-Sherlock, Peter, et al. Hypertension among older adults in low-and middle-income countries: prevalence, awareness and control. International journal of epidemiology, 2014, 43.1: 116-128.