Hypertension & pre-hypertension in developing countries

Abstract

Hypertension is reported to be the fourth contributor to premature death in developed countries and the seventh in developing countries1. Recent reports indicate that nearly 1 billion adults (more than a quarter of the world’s population) had hypertension in 2000, and this is predicted to increase to 1.56 billion by 20252. Earlier reports also suggest that the prevalence of hypertension is rapidly increasing in developing countries3,4 and is one of the leading causes of death and disability in developing countries.