Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums
  • My alerts
The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • RSS feeds
  • Follow cfp Template on Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Article CommentaryCommentary

World Health Day

Focusing on hypertension in 2013

Mark Gelfer, Denis Drouin, Martin Dawes and Norm Campbell
Canadian Family Physician April 2013; 59 (4) 341-342;
Mark Gelfer
Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
MD CCFP FCFP
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Denis Drouin
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Martin Dawes
MB BS MD DRCOG FRCGP
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Norm Campbell
MD FRCPC
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: ncampbel@ucalgary.ca
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

The World Health Organization celebrates World Health Day each year by focusing on an important global health issue. For World Health Day 2013, they have selected hypertension as the theme.1 The selection of hypertension is based on recently published World Health Organization–sponsored studies that have found that increased blood pressure plays a critical and increasing role in causing death and disability worldwide.2

A total of 13% of all deaths (9.4 million annually) and 7% of disabilities are caused by increased blood pressure—marked increases over the last estimates in 1990.2 Approximately half of hypertension-related disease occurs in those with increased but still “normal” blood pressure (“high normal” or “prehypertension”), and the other half in those who meet clinical criteria for hypertension.3 World Health Day’s focus on hypertension is intended

  • to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure;

  • to provide information on how to prevent high blood pressure and related complications;

  • to encourage adults to check their blood pressure and to follow the advice of health-care professionals;

  • to encourage self-care to prevent high blood pressure;

  • to make blood pressure measurement affordable to all; and

  • to incite national and local authorities to create enabling environments for healthy behaviours.1

Celebrating successes

Canada has a lower burden of hypertension than many countries. The Canadian age-adjusted rate of hypertension in adults is approximately 20% and has been constant for 3 decades. In comparison, the rate in many countries is higher than 30%. Canada has the highest reported national rates of treatment (80%) and control of hypertension (66%) and a low rate of people who have undiagnosed hypertension (17%).4,5 Many of the successes in Canada have been attributed to the Canadian Hypertension Education Program, which develops evidence-based recommendations and educational materials for health care professionals and the public. Strong government and non-governmental organization partnerships have focused on hypertension prevention and control.6 In addition, Canada has been aided by a series of national strategic plans and frameworks to help guide these efforts.7 A national committee of health care and scientific organizations (Canadian Hypertension Advisory Committee), comprising a broad mix of health professional groups, including a representative from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, has formed to help guide and drive the implementation of the Hypertension Framework.

More to be done

Recent national surveillance efforts suggest that there is much work still to be done in Canada. About 7.4 million adult Canadians currently have hypertension, and Canadians living an average lifespan have a 90% likelihood of developing hypertension.8,9 Vulnerable populations such as First Nations peoples, new immigrants, several ethnic minorities, and people with low incomes and education are at higher risk of developing hypertension, and people living in the territories are less likely to be treated when they are diagnosed. Almost 1 in 3 Canadians with hypertension has uncontrolled blood pressure (mainly systolic hypertension), and lack of control is most common in older women.10 Younger Canadians, especially young men, are commonly unaware that they are hypertensive. This is likely because Canadian workplaces for the most part do not have effective screening or health programs targeting that population.10

Hypertension is caused by a mixture of genetic predisposition and an unhealthy diet high in saturated fats, trans fatty acids, free sugars, and sodium (Table 1). It is becoming increasingly evident that the current generation of children in Canada might live shorter, less healthy lives compared with previous generations, owing for the most part to lifestyle factors. The Canadian Hypertension Advisory Committee has prioritized the prevention of hypertension through advocacy at all levels of government for the implementation of policies that could assist in markedly reducing the prevalence of hypertension, improve hypertension control rates, and reduce the devastating effect of uncontrolled hypertension on individuals and their families.

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
Table 1

Lifestyle causes of increased blood pressure

Canadians should celebrate our national successes that have reduced the disease burden of hypertension. However, World Health Day also reminds us of the following:

  • hypertension is largely preventable and remains a constant threat to the health of our society;

  • effective policies exist that support Canadians making healthy choices, which, if implemented, could largely prevent hypertension from occurring;

  • hypertension is easy to screen for; and

  • effective lifestyle modification and drug treatments are available that could control hypertension in nearly all Canadians.

Canadian family physicians in settings all across the country have played a critical role in Canada’s hypertension success story, both as leaders in the development of programs and as practitioners in primary care implementing the evidence-based recommendations. As a direct result, since the introduction of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendation process, the rates of myocardial infarction and stroke have declined substantially.11 Without question this is largely owing to the increased vigilance by primary care practitioners to the dangers of hypertension.

As World Health Day reminds us, there remains a great deal of work yet to be done. Family physicians, working with other health professionals, will play an even greater role in ensuring Canadians benefit from optimum blood pressure levels in the future. With an aging population and an epidemic of obesity, the prevalence of hypertension will increase. We need to redouble our efforts to prevent hypertension by advocating for our governments to introduce healthy public policies and by encouraging our patients to live healthier lives; exercise regularly; maintain ideal weight; avoid or quit smoking; and consume a balanced, reduced-sodium diet, avoiding excess alcohol and sugary drinks. Through heightened screening and diagnostic efforts, and judicious use of antihypertensive medications when indicated, we will continue to reduce the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and some forms of cognitive decline so that our patients can enjoy their advanced age more fully.

Footnotes

  • Cet article se trouve aussi en français à la page 349.

  • Competing interests

    Dr Campbell received travel support from Novartis (Russia) in 2012. Dr Gelfer received consulting fees from Microlife and PharmaSmart in 2012 and 2013.

  • The opinions expressed in commentaries are those of the authors. Publication does not imply endorsement by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

  • Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

References

  1. ↵
    1. World Health Organization [website]
    . World Health Day—7 April 2013. Geneva, Switz: World Health Organization; 2013. Available from: www.who.int/world-health-day/en/. Accessed 2013 Feb 4.
  2. ↵
    1. Lim SS,
    2. Vos T,
    3. Flaxman AD,
    4. Danaei G,
    5. Shibuya K,
    6. Adair-Rohani H,
    7. 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. Lancet 2013;380(9859):2224-60.
    OpenUrl
  3. ↵
    1. Perkovic V,
    2. Huxley R,
    3. Wu Y,
    4. Prabhakaran D,
    5. MacMahon S
    . The burden of blood pressure-related disease: a neglected priority for global health. Hypertension 2007;50(6):991-7.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  4. ↵
    1. Wilkins K,
    2. Campbell N,
    3. Joffres M,
    4. McAllister F,
    5. Marianne N,
    6. Quach S,
    7. et al
    . Blood pressure in Canadian adults. Health Reports 2010;21(1):1-10.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  5. ↵
    1. Kearney PM,
    2. Whelton M,
    3. Reynolds K,
    4. Whelton PK,
    5. He J
    . Worldwide prevalence of hypertension: a systematic review. J Hypertens 2004;22(1):11-9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  6. ↵
    1. Campbell NR,
    2. Sheldon T
    . The Canadian effort to prevent and control hypertension: can other countries adopt Canadian strategies? Curr Opin Cardiol 2010;25(4):366-72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  7. ↵
    1. Campbell N,
    2. Young ER,
    3. Drouin D,
    4. Legowski B,
    5. Adams MA,
    6. Farrell J,
    7. et al
    . A framework for discussion on how to improve prevention, management and control of hypertension in Canada. Can J Cardiol 2012;28(3):262-9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  8. ↵
    1. Robitaille C,
    2. Dai S,
    3. Waters C,
    4. Loukine L,
    5. Bancej C,
    6. Quach S,
    7. et al
    . Diagnosed hypertension in Canada: incidence, prevalence and associated mortality. CMAJ 2012;184(1):E49-56.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  9. ↵
    1. Vasan RS,
    2. Beiser A,
    3. Seshadri S,
    4. Larson MG,
    5. Kannel WB,
    6. D’Agostino RB,
    7. et al
    . Residual lifetime risk for developing hypertension in middle-aged women and men. JAMA 2002;287(8):1003-10.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  10. ↵
    1. Campbell NR,
    2. McAlister FA,
    3. Quan H
    . Monitoring and evaluating efforts to control hypertension in Canada: why, how, and what it tells us needs to be done about current care gaps. Can J Cardiol. 2012 Jul 16. Epub ahead of print.
  11. ↵
    1. Campbell NRC,
    2. Brant R,
    3. Johansen H,
    4. Walker RL,
    5. Wielgosz A,
    6. Onysko J,
    7. et al
    . Increases in antihypertensive prescriptions and reductions in cardiovascular events in Canada. Hypertension 2009;53(2):128-4.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Family Physician: 59 (4)
Canadian Family Physician
Vol. 59, Issue 4
1 Apr 2013
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
World Health Day
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The College of Family Physicians of Canada
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the The College of Family Physicians of Canada web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
World Health Day
Mark Gelfer, Denis Drouin, Martin Dawes, Norm Campbell
Canadian Family Physician Apr 2013, 59 (4) 341-342;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
World Health Day
Mark Gelfer, Denis Drouin, Martin Dawes, Norm Campbell
Canadian Family Physician Apr 2013, 59 (4) 341-342;
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Celebrating successes
    • More to be done
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Journée mondiale de la Santé
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Diving deep in the undergraduate medical education curriculum
  • Top influences and concerns of residents selecting a career in family medicine
  • Navigating Canada’s primary care crisis
Show more Commentary

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Collections - English
  • Collections - Française

For Authors

  • Authors and Reviewers
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Permissions
  • Terms of Use

General Information

  • About CFP
  • About the CFPC
  • Advertisers
  • Careers & Locums
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Subscribers

Journal Services

  • Email Alerts
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feeds

Copyright © 2025 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Powered by HighWire