$900,000 For First Canadian Chair In Hypertension Prevention And Control

Main Category: Hypertension
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 16 May 2006 - 8:00 PDT

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$900,000 for first Canadian Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control
The Canadian Hypertension Society (CHS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada's Research-based Pharmaceutical companies (Rx&D), sanofi-aventis and Blood Pressure Canada (BPC) are announcing today an investment of $900,000 over five years to fund the first Canadian Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control. Dr. Norm Campbell, MD, FRCPC, from the University of Calgary, is the recipient.

The Chair was created through a partnership between CHS, the CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program, sanofi-aventis and BPC. The Chair's mission is to improve awareness, prevention and control of hypertension by interaction with federal and provincial health care agencies and providers as well as the community at large.

"Hypertension is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease in Canada and worldwide, and it is still on the rise", said Dr. Peter Liu, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health. "This announcement is timely as World Hypertension Day this year falls on May 13. The Chair will educate Canadians on hypertension and identify ways to reduce their blood pressure in order to improve their health."

Dr. Campbell will adopt a multi-faceted approach toward the primary prevention of hypertension and improvement in the treatment of those in whom the disease cannot be prevented. He will:

-- Expand the Canadian Hypertension Education Program (CHEP);

-- Develop a comprehensive national surveillance program for hypertension;

-- Increase public awareness of hypertension;

-- Lobby to eliminate indiscriminate addition of salt by the public food sector.

"Dr. Norm Campbell's past experience and reputation beyond the field of hypertension make him the perfect candidate to lead this partnership in its efforts to enable Canadians to live healthier lives by improving awareness, prevention and control of hypertension," said Dr. Laurent-Didier Jacobs, Vice-President of Medical Affairs at sanofi-aventis Canada Inc.

"Dr. Norm Campbell is the ideal candidate to spearhead a tremendous program aimed at improving education, treatment and control of blood pressure in Canada,"said Dr. Marcel Lebel, President of the CHS. "He currently holds or has held several hypertension leadership positions, has been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards and has over 140 peer-reviewed publications, almost all hypertension related. We at the CHS look forward to the performance of outstanding research over the next five years."

To help meet the need for increased education about hypertension, the Chair will actively promote hypertension knowledge to family physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals. Education efforts will also involve strengthening existing partnerships with professional organizations to encourage implementation of best practices for reducing hypertension.

Furthermore, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada, the Provincial Ministries of Health and the Outcomes Research Task Force of CHEP will collaborate to assess the prevalence, awareness, diagnosis, treatment and complications of hypertension.

In order to increase public awareness, CHEP, BPC, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the CHS will collaborate to develop and disseminate public versions of existing CHEP recommendations for prevention and management of hypertension.

To accomplish the final aim, the Chair will form a consortium of organizations and concerned scientists to lobby the federal government and public food sector for policies to reduce the widespread indiscriminate addition of salt to food.

Marie-France Poirier
mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Canadian Institutes of Health Research

www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca

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