The World Hypertension Day, observed on 17 May, is being commemorated this year under the theme "Measure Your Blood Pressure, Control It, Live longer", focusing on combatting low awareness rates worldwide.

On the occasion of this day, the Croatian Institute of Pubic health (HZJZ) warns that a third of the Croatian population suffers from hypertension. Furthermore, nearly 50% of people suffering from hypertension are not aware of having high blood pressures, which makes things worse.

Hypertension is a major cause of a range of health problems such as strokes, heart attacks and kidney disease, and can also contribute to dementia.

In Croatia, hypertension is a major cause of mortality. In 2020, this disease caused 40% of deaths in the country, claiming the lives of 13,106 women and 9,711 men.

The findings of the 2017 Morbidity Statistics, a project conducted by the European Union’s statistical office Eurostat, show that as many as 1,283,437 Croatian inhabitants suffered from this “silent disease”.