S-09-2: POLYPILLS FOR HYPERTENSION CONTROL IN ASIANS

Abstract

The number of cardiovascular disease (CVD) cases and deaths have continued to rise in Asian population. These unfavorable trends are expected to continue, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries.Raised blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol are among the leading modifiable risk factors for this problem. From the year 1990–2019, the prevalence of hypertension in many low-income and middle-income countries in Asia remained unchanged or increased. Most of the increase was in those without a previous diagnosis. However, the hypertension treatment and control were not improved in many countries since 1990. A meta-analysis concluded that combination anti-hypertensive therapies results in a greater reduction in blood pressure compared with increasing the dose of a single drug, regardless of the class of drugs used in combination. In term of safety, two-drug combinations have been shown to be safe and well tolerated with only a small increase in the risk of hypotension. The 2019 Thai hypertension Guidelines recommend using statin in high risk hypertensive patients. Adding a statin together with a combination of antihypertensive drug can further reduce the risk of future CVD. Such Polypill may offer many advantages and potential to solve many challenges and barriers in management of hypertension and CVD control in many, if not all, Asian Countries.