Arterial hypertension in Spain: the experience of the Spanish League.

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality in Spain. After smoking High Blood Pressure (HBP) is the most prevalent (25% in adult population) cardiovascular risk factor. HBP is considered as a public health problem due to its medical and socio-economic implications. The Spanish League Against HBP was formed in 1978. It focused its attention towards the health professionals involved in this field, the hypertensive patients (risk strategy) and the general population (mass strategy) by trying to improve the HBP control and to reduce the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of our hypertensives. We have reviewed the results obtained during the last 15 years. Since then the levels of awareness (55.5%-80.8%), treatment (25.5%-61.5%) and control (7%-33.7%) of HBP have significantly increased. At the same time we have improved the diagnostic and therapeutic management of hypertensives as well as the number of national and international Spanish papers and communications on HBP which rose from 111 to 444 in 1993. In the future we aim to continue to coordinate all the efforts to improve the control of HBP in Spain.