High blood pressure set to become a major problem as nation ages

To raise awareness of one of the most common, serious, but overlooked medical conditions, World Hypertension Day has been marked on May 17 every year since 1978. Yao Yuxin reports.

Cardiovascular disease kills 17.9 million people every year. As such, it is the number one killer on the planet, accounting for 31 percent of all deaths worldwide annually, according to the website of the World Health Organization.

Moreover, four out of every five of those deaths are caused by heart attacks or strokes, about half of which are the result of hypertension - high blood pressure - the WHO said.