Urgency for South Africa to prioritise cardiovascular disease management

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the burden of high blood pressure has shifted from high-income to low-income and middle-income countries, including sub-Saharan Africa.1 Raised blood pressure is accompanied by rising obesity trends, with 68% of South African women and 31% of men being overweight or obese.2 In South Africa, the age-standardised death rates for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now higher than those of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined,3,4 with cardiovascular disease being the leading category of NCDs