Between 10 and 14 million hypertensives in France, of which only 7.6 million are treated. The medical and financial consequences make it a major public health problem.
According to data validated by the French Committee for the Fight against Arterial Hypertension, in France, 7.6 million people are treated for hypertension, or 25% of the population over 35 years old.
But in fact, if one uses self-measurement to assess the voltage, the truth is much more worrying.
In France :
– 14.4 million subjects are hypertensive;
– 6.8 million are hypertensive but untreated;
– only 2.3 million are treated and checked, that is to say that the figures are satisfactory.
Control of hypertension is half as frequent in treated men as in treated women. Nearly 42% of 35-55 year olds “do not know their blood pressure figures”.
According to the medical journal The Lancet, more than a quarter of the world’s adult population (26.4%) suffers from arterial hypertension, ie 972 million people, including 333 million in developed countries and 639 million in developing countries. The number of hypertensive adults is expected to grow by 60% to reach a total of 1.56 billion in 2025.
An expensive disease
In France, according to the IRDES (Institute for Research and Documentation in Health Economics), the expenditure incurred for all cardiovascular diseases represents 11.8 billion euros, or 10.7% of healthcare consumption. and medical goods (CSBM). High blood pressure represents a cost of 2.6 billion euros, behind cancer (4.5 billion euros), and ahead of diabetes (1.1 billion euros). The costs of preventing the risk factors associated with arterial hypertension cost significantly less than those of treating the complications. Also the public authorities and society as a whole have an interest in investing in research and prevention of hypertension. This policy is part of an aging population perspective.
A serious and poorly treated illness
There is a linear relationship between blood pressure level and cardiovascular risk (myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.). According to an international consensus, the threshold value of blood pressure in an adult at rest should not exceed 140/90 mm Hg.
Much research remains to be done on hypertension, both on its causes, its contributing and aggravating factors, on its therapeutic management… And even if we have certain epidemiological data on hypertension, in France, there is still a lack of reliable information. Finally, even if today our therapeutic arsenal against hypertension is effective, for various reasons, only about 30% of patients have normalized blood pressure values. Considering that today nearly 2/3 of people over 60 are hypertensive, and that our population is aging, hypertension will constitute a major public health problem in the future. All this shows how much remains to be done in the field of arterial hypertension!
Sources: Hypertension Research Foundation
.
