Ministry of Health in UAE launches updated 'Hypertension Guide for 2019'

Dubai - The Ministry of Health updates the Hypertension Guide every 4 years to keep up with the latest international standards.

As the National Health Survey 2018 estimated the prevalence of hypertension in the country to reach 28.8 per cent, the Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, has launched the updated version of the 'Hypertension Guideline 2019' to build capacity of healthcare providers and deliver the best preventive and therapeutic services for patients with hypertension.
The 2019 Guideline, which was updated as per the 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines for the management of arterial Hypertension, aims to increase the awareness of community members on the importance of early detection of high blood pressure and highlight the seriousness of its complications on public health.
The guideline was launched recently during a training workshop at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City in the presence of Dr Hussein Abdel-Rahman Al-Rand, Under-Secretary Assistant of Health Centres and Clinics Sector, Dr. Aisha Suhail, Director of Primary Health Care Department, and Dr. Buthaina Abdullah bin Belaila, Head of the non-communicable Diseases section, at the ministry. More than 100 employees from the ministry's relevant departments participated in the workshop.
Dr Al-Rand referred to the WHO, which says that hypertension affects about 28-30 percent of adults worldwide.
"Launching the updated version comes in line with the national agenda, global indicators of the WHO, and the national plan to combat non-communicable diseases, and will help achieve the global target of reducing the prevalence of hypertension by 25 percent by 2025," Dr. Al-Rand said.
For her part, Dr. Buthaina bin Belaila said, "The Ministry of Health updates the Hypertension Guide every 4 years to keep up with the latest international standards. We have been keen to benefit from the expertise of the international expert, Professor Krzysztof Narkiewicz, Head of hypertension and diabetology, medical university of Gdansk, Poland and a member of European ESC/ESH guideline committee, who contributed to completing the European Guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure 2018. This is in addition the efforts of local specialists and cardiology consultants from the county's public and private sector, as well as the Non-Communicable Diseases team at the Ministry and Servier Pharmaceuticals."
Bin Belaila added that the ministry has opened 53 non-communicable diseases clinics across the UAE, including clinics for hypertension, in primary health care centers, and is keen to open more clinics every year to ensure the widest health coverage for patients with high blood pressure.