Hypertension Cost Is Staggering: Solutions -- Any Drug, IT, and a Vaccine?
Hypertension Cost Is Staggering: Solutions -- Any Drug, IT, and a Vaccine?
Blood pressure elevated to the point that it is classified as hypertension is a largely asymptomatic condition that is widely underrecognized and uncontrolled, worldwide. This is not a benign condition with which we simply must live; indeed, when direct and indirect costs are included, the total cost to the world's healthcare systems amounts to $10 trillion annually. A meta-analysis by the original authors of the "polypill" concept, however, has found that appropriate application of any blood pressure-lowering regimen in patients at high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk will be effective in preventing CVD events, and a Canadian study found that monitoring antihypertensive therapy with an information technology (IT) program will increase blood pressure control. Finally, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which infects 60% to 99% of adults worldwide, is associated with increased blood pressure, and the recent disappointment with a promising antihypertensive vaccine now appears to have been due to a mistaken belief that the dosage level should be lower.
Introduction
Blood pressure elevated to the point that it is classified as hypertension is a largely asymptomatic condition that is widely underrecognized and uncontrolled, worldwide. This is not a benign condition with which we simply must live; indeed, when direct and indirect costs are included, the total cost to the world's healthcare systems amounts to $10 trillion annually. A meta-analysis by the original authors of the "polypill" concept, however, has found that appropriate application of any blood pressure-lowering regimen in patients at high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk will be effective in preventing CVD events, and a Canadian study found that monitoring antihypertensive therapy with an information technology (IT) program will increase blood pressure control. Finally, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which infects 60% to 99% of adults worldwide, is associated with increased blood pressure, and the recent disappointment with a promising antihypertensive vaccine now appears to have been due to a mistaken belief that the dosage level should be lower.