The findings are encouraging, because they indicate that, at least for older Chinese people, measuring blood pressure during household visits and encouraging those with elevated blood pressure to seek further care and adopt behavioral changes, can have substantial and long-term effects on systolic blood pressure at the population level. Community-based blood pressure screening should be integrated into routine healthcare in China. Community health workers, whose roots lie in the Chinese barefoot doctors, could systematically take on home-based screening roles—and future research should establish whether other home-based screening, such as for diabetes and dyslipidemia, could have similar health benefits as hypertension screening. My granduncle died in his 60s. A lack of awareness of the risks associated with hypertension and and prevention strategies shortened his life and lowered the quality of his life. While it is too late to save his life, it is never too late to start preventing more premature deaths like him and improving peoples’ health and wellbeing now by providing a convenient way to raise their awareness and motivate them to adopt preventative measures. As William James Mayo put it, “The aim of medicine is to prevent disease and prolong life, the ideal of medicine is to eliminate the need of a physician.” Simiao Chen is an Assistant Professor at Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University.

I spent my formative years dwelling with my grandparents within the large geographical region of northeastern China. Up to these days, I can nonetheless do not forget the hot summer afternoon when my granduncle cried in melancholy as he misplaced manage of his left leg. He turned into recognized with a stroke after being sent to the closest health center hours later. His blood strain turned into as high as a hundred and sixty/one hundred twenty mmHg. However, earlier than the stroke, he in no way knew he had high blood pressure. He had no symptoms and for this reason in no way measured his blood stress. The stroke became severe, and he changed into paralyzed in his early 50s and had to spend the rest of his existence with a limp and needed to use a cane. The burden on the own family turned into not most effective monetary, but additionally intellectual because of the demanding situations he confronted affected his moods.
When I saw the problems that this caused his close own family, I always requested myself: what if he had regarded his blood strain beforehand? What if he knew the risk and what to do after being diagnosed with hypertension? Would he have given up smoking, reduced his alcohol intake, ate up much less meat and salt, and lost weight? What if there has been a handy manner for him to check his blood strain and learn about this disorder?
Stories like this take place each day in China. Currently, almost half of Chinese adults elderly 35-75 years are hypertensive, and 1 / 4 of usual mortality has been attributed to excessive blood strain, ensuing in immense fitness and monetary burdens at both the household and national stages. [1,2,3] Like my granduncle, many Chinese humans prefer a weight loss plan with meat and salty food, and greater than 1/2 of Chinese guys are modern smokers. To make matters worse, extra than 1/2 of those with hypertension in China are unaware of their circumstance, that’s one of the maximum critical modifiable danger elements for stroke and cardiovascular disease.
After discussing with my colleagues, we had been curious about whether or not measuring blood stress at a network level should lessen hypertension. This question is important because many humans in China, as in other nations, are reluctant to go to hospitals or clinics to check their blood stress. Community-based total blood pressure size may additionally offer a powerful opportunity to facility-primarily based screening—but will it make a difference without extra investment, such as economic incentives to comply with-up on a screening take a look at, or an infrastructure to convey hypertension remedy to humans’ houses? Could elevating awareness by myself have the power to enhance fitness results? Is knowledge sufficient?

The findings are encouraging, due to the fact they indicate that, as a minimum for older Chinese people, measuring blood strain for the duration of household visits and encouraging people with improved blood pressure to are searching for in addition care and adopt behavioral changes, can have tremendous and lengthy-term outcomes on systolic blood pressure at the populace degree. Community-primarily based blood pressure screening have to be integrated into ordinary healthcare in China. Community medical examiners, whose roots lie in the Chinese barefoot medical doctors, should systematically take on domestic-primarily based screening roles—and destiny studies should establish whether different domestic-based screening, consisting of for diabetes and dyslipidemia, may want to have comparable fitness advantages as hypertension screening.
My granduncle died in his 60s. A lack of information on the dangers associated with hypertension and prevention techniques shortened his life and decreased the satisfactory of his existence. While it’s far too past due to save his existence, it is in no way too late to start preventing more untimely deaths like him and enhancing peoples’ fitness and wellbeing now through supplying a convenient manner to elevate their awareness and encourage them to undertake preventative measures.
As William James Mayo positioned it, “The goal of medicine is to prevent disorder and lengthen lifestyles, the ideal of medication is to take away the want of a health practitioner.”
Simiao Chen is an Assistant Professor at Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University.