Jornal de Prática Geral

Hypertension Management in Primary Care in China: Still a Long Way to Proceed

Abstract

Haitao Li

The prevalence of hypertension increased dramatically during the last several decades in China. The Chinese government has launched a national comprehensive hypertension management program in primary care, which includes hypertension detection, measurement, treatment and follow-up. The awareness, treatment and control rates of hypertension in China have improved in recent years, which is possibly attributable to the program to some extent. However, policy makers are facing many issues regarding hypertension management. This study pointed out two major issues. The first one was the low hypertension management rate. The other one was the hypertension management process itself-there were significant gaps between standards of care and medical practice. Possible barriers to effective delivery of hypertensive care were elaborated which may help improve hypertension management in primary care in China.