World Hypertension Day:
The Silent "Killer" Amidst Global Health Challenges

May 17th each year marks "World Hypertension Day" (WHD), an international health awareness day initiated by the World Hypertension League (WHL) and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Its aim is to enhance public awareness of hypertension, a prevalent yet often overlooked health issue, and to promote effective prevention, early detection, and appropriate management of hypertension globally. The theme for 2024 is "Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, and live longer!"

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, refers to a pathological condition where the force exerted by blood against the arterial walls remains persistently above normal levels, specifically with systolic pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure ≥90 mmHg. Dubbed the "silent killer," hypertension may exhibit no overt symptoms in its early stages but can progressively damage vital organs such as the heart, blood vessels, brain, and kidneys, increasing the risk of severe health issues like cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and renal failure.

Hypertension is a leading cause of premature death worldwide, with approximately 1.28 billion people globally living with the condition, and alarmingly, at least 46% of adult hypertensive patients are unaware of their diagnosis, according to WHO data ^[1].

While the exact mechanisms underlying hypertension's onset remain unclear, numerous risk factors are identified, including advancing age, genetic predisposition, obesity, unhealthy dietary habits, and lifestyle practices.

The primary treatment for hypertension begins with lifestyle adjustments, with medication interventions, such as calcium channel blockers (CCBs), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), diuretics, and β-blockers, introduced when lifestyle changes fail to adequately manage blood pressure.

Current research focuses on more precise regulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), including AGT inhibitors, aldosterone synthase inhibitors (ASI), novel mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA), endothelin receptor antagonists (ETRI), among others. These efforts aim to leverage new targets and mechanisms of action for effective hypertension management, particularly in resistant cases. Moreover, RNA interference techniques like AGT-siRNA offer a revolutionary approach to suppress RAAS at its source, potentially transforming hypertension therapy.

CUSABIO consistently dedicates itself to providing high-quality research reagents such as proteins, antibodies, and ELISA kits to researchers. Given the criticality and urgency of hypertension research, we have specially curated a list of more than 20 popular targets and related reagent products pertinent to hypertension studies below for your selection.