The cardiovascular diseases in Moldova cause half of the annual cases of death. Many persons do not even know that they have hypertension. The events within the World Health Day this year are held under the theme: “Keep your blood pressure under control”, IPN reports.

In a news conference on April 9, acting Health Minister Andrei Usatii said that hypertension, which is also called the silent killer, became a major public health problem. The investigations carried out at national level revealed that over 70% of the persons older than 40 have high blood pressure.

WHO Representative in Moldova Jarno Habicht said that 2012 was important for the public health sector of Moldova, especially as regards the addressing of non-transmitted diseases and the main risk factors. It is good that the main prevention strategies were already adopted, but they must be put into practice without delay.

“The World Health Organization will continue to support the implementation of national programs and will carry out the nationwide study STEPTS in order to identify the risk factors of the non-transmitted diseases, including hypertension. There will be also made a study of the policies aimed at strengthening the health system so as to obtain better results in controlling non-transmitted diseases,” said Jarno Habicht.

According to the WHO, the diminution of the volume of consumed salt represent one of the simplest methods of reducing high blood pressure and, consequently, of the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The largest quantities of salt are contained in such processed products as pressed cheese and bread.