Half of Vietnamese people have high blood pressure but don’t know they have the disease. Many cases are only discovered when complications of the heart, kidneys or stroke appear.
Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Minh, Chairman of the Vietnam Hypertension Association, Chairman of the Vietnam Cardiology Association, at the Vietnam Hypertension Conference on November 23, said that this situation is posing a big challenge for public health.
Summary of survey results for the period 2017-2023 on more than 67,000 Vietnamese adults, more than 30% have hypertension. Of these, nearly half of hypertensive patients (49.8%) were newly diagnosed, 11.3% had never been treated, and more than half of those treated still had uncontrolled blood pressure.
Hypertension is the largest contributing risk factor for global mortality. Every second, more than a billion people around the world face the risk of heart attack, stroke and death due to uncontrolled high blood pressure. In 2024, an estimated 1.4 billion people aged 30-79 will be affected, but less than a fifth will be fully controlled. This disease not only causes a health burden but also has a serious financial impact on individuals, families and health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
According to Professor Minh, the incidence of hypertension in Vietnam is increasing, starting at younger ages and leading to many serious complications. The detection rate in the community is still low due to the lack of regular health checks, many cases are only discovered when complications have appeared.
“The main reason for the low detection rate is that hypertension often has no symptoms, people are subjective and screening is not widely done,” he said.
Medical staff measure people’s blood pressure. Image: Quynh Tran
Limitations at the grassroots level are also a big problem, when many places do not have standard measuring machines, lack basic tests to assess complications, and human resources are not unified on treatment instructions. The use of drugs is not optimal, with monotherapy still common, combination drugs have not been widely deployed. In addition, hypertension is often accompanied by comorbidities such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes and lipid disorders, increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular complications such as stroke, heart failure and end-stage renal disease.
Another challenge is that the chronic disease management system is not completely connected, medical records are not synchronized, home monitoring is not standard, and there is a lack of an early warning system. High costs of medication and follow-up examinations, especially in rural areas, make long-term disease control difficult. Suboptimal treatment with non-individualized regimens, low medication compliance, fear of side effects, even arbitrarily stopping medication along with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, eating a lot of salt, smoking and drinking alcohol, make blood pressure control difficult.
To control hypertension, the World Health Organization with its WHO HEARTS initiative promotes healthy lifestyles, treatment according to guidelines and easy access to medicines and technology. In Vietnam, programs focus on educating and counseling patients, simplifying treatment, regularly monitoring blood pressure, applying telemedicine and promoting changes in living habits such as eating healthy, exercising more, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol.
Doctor CK2 Ly Van Chieu, Director of the Cardiovascular Center, Cho Ray Hospital, said community awareness of hypertension has improved significantly. Thanks to media and technology, people gradually understand that high blood pressure is a “silent killer” that can be dangerous at any time. Smart watches and artificial intelligence applications help monitor blood pressure and remind you to take medication on time, but treatment decisions are still guided by your doctor. Dr. Chieu emphasized that treatment compliance is the most important factor in controlling the disease.
Dr. Nguyen Ngo Quang, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training, Ministry of Health, highly appreciated the role of the Vietnam Hypertension Association and the Cardiology Association in standardizing treatment regimens, promoting scientific research, training doctors and applying digital technology in chronic disease management. These are key factors to help Vietnam reduce cardiovascular events, improve the quality of care and reduce the burden of disease, in the context of increasing hypertension rates, especially in young people, urban workers and urbanizing rural areas.
Experts recommend that everyone, especially over 40 years old, should have their blood pressure measured at least once a year. People with comorbidities such as diabetes or kidney disease need to be regularly monitored according to the instructions of a medical facility. Primary health clinics and family doctors can manage patients with hypertension, including lifestyle treatment and medication; Only refer when the disease is uncontrolled or there is a high risk of requiring intensive intervention.