World Hypertension Day

16 October 2020

To mark World Hypertension Day, the World Health Organization, Pan-American Health Organization and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, are hosting an event to:  

  • celebrate achievements in protecting people’s heart health 
  • launch of a new virtual course and new tools that will support the measurement and management of blood pressure
  • share country and partner experiences in implementing hypertension programmes
More than one billion people around the world live with hypertension (high blood pressure), which is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. The burden of hypertension is felt disproportionately in low- and middle-income countries, where two thirds of cases are found, largely due to increased risk factors in those populations in recent decades. What’s more, around half of people living with hypertension are unaware of their condition, putting them at risk of avoidable medical complications and death.

Agenda

Part 1

Moderator: Jamie Guerra, WHO

  •  9.00 am – Opening address. Dr Tedros, Director General,  WHO
  •  9.03 am –  Scaling up effective treatment of hypertension: A pathfinder for UHC and PHC. Dr Tom Frieden, President, Cardiovascular Health, Resolve to Save Lives
  •  9.08 am –  Experience in measuring hypertension in Cote D’Ivoire. Mr Didier Drogba, President of the Didier Drogba Foundation
  • 9.11 am – Message from the World Hypertension League. Dr Xin-Hua Zhang, President, WHL
  •  9.14 am – Improving hypertension control in 3 million people. Dr Cherian Varghese, cross cutting lead, NCD and special initiatives, WHO
  •  9.20 am –  Message from the International Society of Hypertension. Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, President, ISH

     Learning from the field

  •  9.25 am –  HEARTS in the Americas. Dr Anselm Hennis, Regional NCD Director, PAHO
  •  9.35 am –  Implementing HEARTS for hypertension control in Trinidad and Tobago. Dr Rohit Doon, Advisor, Health Promotion and Public Health, MoH, Trinidad and Tobago
  •  9.40 am – India Hypertension Control Initiative. Dr Kunwar Abhishek, WHO India
  •  9.45 am – Hypertension country profiles. Ms Leanne Riley, Unit Head, NCD surveillance, WHO
  •  9.50 am –  Q and A
  • 10.05 am – ‘Building back better’. Concluding remarks of part 1. Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director, NCD WHO
  • 10.15 am – Get up and move. Introduce St Lucia video

Part 2

  • 10.30 am – Introduction. Dr. Pedro Orduñez, Regional advisor, PAHO
  • 10.40 am – The relevance of the prevention and control of hypertension and launch of a new resource to improve practices on blood pressure measurement. Professor Norm Campbell, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • 11.00 am – New virtual course on accurate automated blood pressure measurement. Presentation of the video and comments. Dr. Tej Khalsa, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. United States.
  • 11.20 am – Access to the course. Navigation on the website of the Virtual Campus for Public Health of PAHO/WHO. Carlos León, PAHO, Panama.
  • 11.30 am –  Q and A. Moderator
  • 11.55 am – Closing. Dr. Pedro Orduñez, Regional advisor, PAHO.

How to participate:

  • DATE: Friday, October 16, 2020 
  • TIME: 3:00 pm- 6:00 pm (CEST) / 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (EDT)  

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar.