Hypertension affects around 40% adults aged 25 years and more worldwide, and accounts for 7% of total disability-adjusted life-years. A simple algorithmic program is required to manage
hypertension consisting of screening, life style measures, treatment and follow-up, a reliable
drug supply and distribution system, and a credible health information system. Despite availability of effective
antihypertensive drugs, long term treatment is still costly, tedious, and at the population level rather unsuccessful.
Hypertension leaves patients and families with an avoidable heavy economic burden due to failure to control blood pressure. Health policy needs to address gross imbalance between prevention and management by increasing contribution to the preventive programs. During 21st century, the risk factors for morbidity and mortality have been changed, and researchers have started to work upon
vaccines against lifestyle diseases like
hypertension, diabetes etc. Researchers began experimenting with
vaccines against the renin-angiotensin system to control
hypertension around six decades ago. The
vaccine candidates against
hypertension namely ATR12181, pHAV-4Ang IIs,
CYT006-AngQb, AngI-R, ATRQβ-001 have shown promising results. A candidate
vaccine,
CYT006-AngQb, has crossed initial phase and moved into phase 2 trials. However, more human studies in subsequent phases of trials are required to establish the safety and efficacy of
anti-hypertensive vaccine. If proved safe and cost effective, a
vaccine even with 50% efficacy against
hypertension may protect about 90 million people from
hypertension and its heavy economic burden. It can be an appropriate
solution for low compliance to
antihypertensive drug therapy as well as an avalanche to induce efforts on various
chronic disease vaccine development programs.