- The treatment for a person with arterial hypertension can vary from 8,000 to 400,000 pesos per year and it all depends on the complications of each patient.
- According to UNAM, 30% of the population has this condition.
- 54% of Mexican patients with hypertension are under 54 years of age.
It is not a secret that Mexico is in a severe health crisis due to the increase in the incidence of arterial hypertension but in addition to prevention it is also necessary to talk about the cost of its treatment. One of the main adversities is the lack of symptoms in its initial stages. As a consequence, many people take years to obtain an accurate diagnosis.
Mexican population at risk
To better understand the current situation, the academic from the UNAM School of Medicine, Martin Rosas Peralta, mentions that 30 percent of Mexicans suffer from this condition. While more than three percent of them are not adequately controlled and generate catastrophic expenses for the health system.
“The problem focuses on the fact that it is the main cause of death in Mexicans and in the world because 30 percent of the adult population suffers from arterial hypertension. Unfortunately, 50 percent do not know it, since it is a disease, initially, asymptomatic. Of the remaining 50 percent, only half are undergoing drug treatment and, of those, only half are in control figures.
Hypertension is almost always accompanied by other metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia and obesity, Therefore, cardiovascular risk must be addressed comprehensively to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality, which in this case is less than 60 years, since life expectancy in Mexico is 70.
One of the big problems is that the population, fundamentally affected, is the economically active one. In fact 54 percent of hypertensive patients are under 54 years of agewhich is why they are considered catastrophic expense diseases, stated the UNAM professor in the cardiology residency program.
How much does the treatment against arterial hypertension cost?
Rosas Peralta explained that a well-controlled person can cost, for treatment, from 8,000 to 18,000 pesos a year, but in one that presents complications, 250,000 to 400,000 pesos are invested, since it surely registers a heart attack, requires a catheterization room , being in intensive care, etc. Taking care of them in a timely manner is what can lead to improving the quality of life.
On the other hand, beyond cost of high blood pressure treatment It is necessary to remember that this condition has no cure. Therefore, diagnosed patients can only control the condition but they will never make it disappear.
The member and founder of the civil association Group of Experts on Arterial Hypertension in Mexico (GREHTA) pointed out that cardiovascular risk refers to diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, risk factors associated with the development of arteriosclerosis that, finally, will end with late complications such as cerebral vascular events, heart attack, kidney damage, blindness, among others.
The also researcher highlighted that in Mexico national surveys have been carried out, but not a registry to follow up. For this reason, GREHTA started the National Registry of Arterial Hypertension (RIHTA) in 2021 as an initiative that seeks to include risk factors and their long-term evolution; and with the data generated, support decision makers
“The registry has more than five thousand patients, we have found alarming figures such as alterations in lipids close to 70 percent. Of course, it is not yet a national representative sample, but it does speak of a trend that is associated with dyslipidemia. So, it is very important to take into account that when a patient is treated for hypertension, they should always be alert that they possibly have another hidden comorbidity, such as elevated lipids or elevated glucose levels”.
The data is important because national statistics indicate that people with hypertension have 40 to 46 percent higher lipid levels, so it is striking that the preliminary information from this registry shows higher values.
He emphasized that the prevalence of arterial hypertension It continues to be 30 percent in the adult population from the year 2000, when we were 80 million, but today we are 126 million Mexicans.
So, in numbers it has increased notably and, above all, when the average number of patients is less than 54 years old, which indicates that the idea that “chronic diseases are for old people” should be left behind, since they are affecting young adults.
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