Health experts have suggested strengthening the primary health care system and increasing allocation in the health budget for tackling hypertension or high blood pressure which is the leading risk factor for heart disease.

They made the suggestion in a meet the press event titled "Improving Cardiovascular Health in Bangladesh" at the InterContinental Dhaka in the capital on Saturday.

National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB), PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), and Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) organized the event.

"In Bangladesh, one out of every four adults bear hypertension. Bangladesh has made rapid progress preventing deaths from infectious diseases. Now the country can also be a world leader preventing heart attacks and strokes," said Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and former Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bangladesh, he said, has made dramatic progress by increasing 20-fold the number of patients on treatment while also doubling the quality of treatment.

"Investing in the strengthening of primary care services to provide blood pressure treatment can prevent heart attacks and strokes, saving many lives," said Dr. Tom Frieden.

To alleviate the burden of non-communicable diseases imposed by hypertension, it is imperative to control blood pressure within the primary healthcare system and ensure the necessary financing is in place to sustain this effort, he said.
 
 "Substantial progress has been made over the past several years with the Bangladesh Hypertension Control Initiative," said Professor Dr. Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of Department of Epidemiology & Research, National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh.

 "The program is now active in 171 Upazilla Health Complexes and the blood pressure control rate has doubled from 26pc to 52pc. Scaling this program will mean more lives improved and saved throughout Bangladesh," he said.

GHAI, along with its partners, also advocates for the improvement of cardiovascular health in Bangladesh.

"Health programs must be comprehensive," said Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI.

"We look forward to supporting the continued progress in Bangladesh in controlling blood pressure, increasing medication access, and reducing salt consumption," he said.

ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, delivered the closing remark at the event.