ABC | Volume 111, Nº3, September 2018

Editorial Jardim SBC and Hypertension: It’s time for action Arq Bras Cardiol. 2018; 111(3):343-344 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 1. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). [Citado em 2018 mar 10]. Disponível em https://www.ibge.gov.br/ 2. Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. JAMA. 1977;237(3):255-61. 3. World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Expert Committee on Arterial hypertension. Geneva;1978. (Technical Report Series No. 628) 4. Guidelines Committee 2003 European Society of Hypertension—European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of hypertension J Hypertens. 2003;21:1011–53. 5. Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia. Consenso Brasileiro de Hipertensão Arterial, Arq BrasCardiol.1996; 56(Supl A):A1-A16. 6. Malachias MVB, Souza WKSB, Plavnik FL, Rodrigues CIS, Brandão AA, Neves MFT, et al., Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia. 7ª Diretriz Brasileira de Hipertensão Arterial. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2016; 107(3Supl.3):1-83. 7. Task Force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension; Task Force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology. 2013 ESH/ESC Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. Blood Press. 2013;22(4):193-278. 8. Weber MA, Schiffrin EL, WhiteWA, Mann S, Lindbolm LH, Venerson JG, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in the community: a statement by the American Society of Hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension. J Hypertens. 2014;32(1):3-15. 9. Guidelines on the management of arterial hypertension and related comorbidities in Latin America Task Force of the Latin American Society of Hypertension, J Hypertens. 2017; 35(8):1529-45. 10. Williams B, Mancia G, Spiering W, Agabiti Rosei E, Azizi M, Burnier M, et al. 2018 ESC/ESHGuidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. ESC Scientific Document Group. Eur Heart J. 2018 Aug 25. [Epub ahead of print] References of 100 hypertensive patients in general have their pressure controlled, that is, the old rule of halves, that we thought was outdated, is still valid. 6 A resounding failure! It is interesting to think back that we have advanced a lot! If this state of affairs is perpetuated, morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases will continue to be the highest, and may even increase, as the epidemic of overweight has also arrived in our country, with evident signs that it came to stay. Still focusing on Brazil, where did we go wrong? How can we improve? In daily practice, we still have difficulties in knowing about the presence of hypertension, but in this case, universal dissemination strategies have worked and only need to be reinforced and continued. Regarding treatment, if on the one hand we have a very satisfactory therapeutic arsenal, on the other we still have many difficulties with its correct use. There are several equally important aspects that should be actively addressed by our scientific societies. These include: a) medical training; b) continuing medical education; c) access to health services; (d) access to essential drugs; e) compliance to treatment. The Brazilian Society of Cardiology has a serious responsibility, and should be more incisive, seeking to actively participate in the policy to control the creation and operation of medical schools and, at the same time, further increasing its participation in continuing medical education. There should be concern about the critical review of our Guidelines. To whom they are intended, the extent of their content, how to implement them, and how to disseminate them throughout the country. It is upsetting, and it is part of the real world, to see patients receiving inadequate treatment, either due to the type of drug used or to inadequate doses, while our guidelines and various international guidelines are dealing with ultra-advanced concepts that are not even possible to be performed in our practice. 6-10 We have to rethink some issues. The issue of access to services and key drugs should also be a matter of honor. It is the duty of the organized society and of each individual citizen to participate in the pressure mechanisms so that public policies in the health area are effectively and continuously implemented. Thus, we can continue with so many projects that have already provided some progress and were completely lost due only to the political will of leaders who are not committed to society. Perhaps, following this path, we will, in fact, contribute to a change in the history of cardiovascular diseases in our country. 344