Current Affairs
Daily Bits

India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Polity & Governance
  • Published
    21st May, 2022

Context

A project called the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) finds that nearly 23% out of 2.1 million Indians have uncontrolled blood pressure.

What is the IHCI?

  • Recognising that hypertension is a serious, and growing, health issue in India, the Health Ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research, State Governments, and WHO-India began a five-year initiative to monitor and treat hypertension.
  • The programme was launched in November 2017.

What is Hypertension?

  • Hypertension is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg.
  • The definition also assumes taking anti-hypertensive medication to lower his/her blood pressure.
  • India has committed to a “25 by 25” goal, which aims to reduce premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.

What has the IHCI found so far?

  • Nearly one-fourth of (23%) patients under the programme had uncontrolled blood pressure, and 27% did not return for a follow-up in the first quarter of 2021.
  • There were an estimated 20 crore adults with hypertension in the country.
  • There weren’t enough validated high-quality digital blood pressure monitors in several health facilities, which affected accuracy of hypertension diagnosis.

Verifying, please be patient.

X