Primary prevention of hypertension in India

Hypertension is a major public health problem in India. Due to the diversity and a wide heterogeneity of population distributions, it is difficult to give a precise prevalence but hypertension is the commonest cardiovascular disorder in India. Several studies in the past mostly taking the World Health Organization (WHO) cut off figures of > 160/95 mm Hg in adults have reported prevalence rates varying from 3.5 to 6.5% in adults, the figures for rural populations being lower than the urban. The latest figures, however, taking > 140/90 mm Hg as the cut off line, give much higher prevalence rates both for the rural and urban communities, the gradient from urban to rural being still maintained.