Jakarta, IO – Hypertension (or high blood pressure) continues to burden the healthcare system. The disease still has a high prevalence, both globally and in Indonesia. In addition to risk factors such as age, gender, genetics, and an unhealthy lifestyle, there are problems like lack of awareness and knowhow about regular blood pressure monitoring and careful compliance & mindfulness to medication; this exacerbates and encouraged the spread of cases of hypertension. A World Health Organization (WHO) study shows numbers of hypertension sufferers aged 30-79 years have soared from 650 million to 1.28 billion, over the last three decades. The study indicates that as many as 53% of women and 62% of men with hypertension, or about 720 million people, do not receive proper treatment.
In Indonesia, according to the Riset Kesehatan Dasar (Riskesdas) 2018, the prevalence of hypertension reaches 34.11%. But those who regularly take antihypertensive drugs are only 54% of this group. A total of 32.27% report that they do not take medicine regularly, and 13.33% say they have never taken any medications for the condition. In commemoration of World Hypertension Day (WHD) on May 17, Omron Healthcare Indonesia has collaborated with the Hypertension Working Group of the Indonesian Heart Association (Perhimpunan Dokter Spesialis Kardiovaskular Indonesia-“PERKI”) and Indonesia Heart Foundation (Yayasan Jantung Indonesia-“YJI”) to encourage blood pressure monitoring as well as adherence to a proper regime of medication to control and manage hypertension.
Read: Hypertension cycles among women
Cardiologist dr. Devie Caroline, Sp.JP, FIHA said that less than optimal adherence to medication is one of the reasons people with hypertension cannot control blood pressure. “Data shows that only about 50% of hypertensive patients are compliant with taking medication. Many factors affect drug discipline. Some of the reasons people with hypertension do not take medication, among others, because people with hypertension feel healthy, forget to take their pills, sufferers choose traditional medicines and besides that they are afraid of drug side effects. Therefore, several strategies are needed so that people with hypertension become accustomed to taking medication,” said the cardiologist from Mitra Keluarga Hospital, Surabaya, in the WHD 2022 “Check Your Blood Pressure Accurately & Control it with Compliance with Treatment” webinar, held on Friday (20/05/2022).