Worldwide Trends in Prevalence, Mortality, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years for Hypertensive Heart Disease From 1990 to 2017

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. Understanding its current burden among various countries and populations is crucial for formulating effective strategies for preventing and managing HHD. This study aimed to use the estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 to describe the prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years for HHD for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Worldwide, the age-standardized prevalence rate of HHD in 2017 was 217.9 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 184.1–254.1) per 100 000 people, an increase of 7.4% (95% UI, 5.0–9.7) from 1990. The global age-standardized mortality and disability-adjusted life year rates of HHD were 12.3 (95% UI, 9.0–13.2) and 209.4 (95% UI, 160.5–226.3) per 100 000 people, a decrease of −19.3% (95% UI, −29.7 to −8.1) and −24.0% (95% UI, −31.0 to −13.7) from 1990, respectively. The global age-standardized prevalence rate of HHD was higher in females and increased with age. Between 1990 and 2017, Bolivia (51.3% [95% UI, 29.6–84.5]) and Maldives (32.3% [95% UI, 22.9–43.8]) showed the greatest increases in age-standardized prevalence rates. Generally, a negative association was found between the age-standardized disability-adjusted life year rates and Sociodemographic index at the regional and national levels. Our results suggest that HHD is a major public health challenge worldwide with an increasing prevalence rate over the past decades. Efforts to improve public awareness and management of high blood pressure and HHD, especially for vulnerable populations, were necessary.