First of its Kind Pan-India “Certificate Course in Management of Hypertension (CCMH)” Launched

This unique 10 months executive on-the-job program with 25 centres in India aims to train and develop competencies of Primary Care Physicians to improve patient outcomes by enabling early diagnosis and evidence based treatment in management of Hypertension – a ‘Silent Killer’.

Jul 24, 2016   12:00 PM 
Ahmedabad | New Delhi, Delhi, India

Hypertension has been long recognized as one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature deaths worldwide, and is one of the most common lifestyle Silent Killerdiseases today, with every third person having suffered from it. Recognising that it’s already a public health challenge in India, Public Health Foundation of India, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, International Society of Hypertension and British Hypertension Society launched the first of its kind Certificate Course in Management of Hypertension (CCMH)”.

 

Hypertension or High blood pressure (BP) is a major public health problem in India and its prevalence is rapidly increasing among both urban and rural populations. In fact, hypertension is now the most prevalent chronic disease in India. It is estimated to cause 9.4 million deaths and 7.0% of DALYs. In India, it exerts substantial public health burden on Cardiovascular health status and the health care system. It is estimated to account for 10.8% of all the deaths and 4.6% of DALYs in the country. The adult Hypertension prevalence has shown a drastic increase in the past three decades in urban as well as rural areas. It is estimated that 16% of Ischaemic Heart Disease, 21% of Peripheral Vascular Disease, 24% of Acute Myocardial Infarctions and 29% of strokes are attributed to hypertension. This stresses the need for its effective management and control and it highlights the huge impact it can have on the burden of Cardiovascular Diseases.

 

Announcing the first cycle of the Certificate Course in Management of Hypertension, Prof. D. Prabhakaran, Vice President – Research and Policy, PHFI said, “There is a high burden of Hypertension in India, which is under-addressed within the population level both rural and urban and also at the medical fraternity level too. Effective management of hypertension requires a systematic and coordinated patient care management. As the numbers increase for patients diagnosed with hypertension, the need for an advanced educational preparation in patient care management has to be developed. With an aim to make an impact hypertension and its related complications, PHFI along with its global partners proudly announces the pan-India course that will ultimately benefit the larger population. This course is a well-designed compendium that will help tackle the challenges of disease detection, management, and further familiarizing primary care doctors with advancements in the subject.

 

Dr. Sandeep Bhalla, Programme Director- Training, Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions and Injury (CCCI), PHFI said, "Hypertension is ranked as the third most important risk factor for attributable burden of disease in south Asia and exerts a substantial public health burden on cardiovascular health status and healthcare systems in India. The announcement of the 1st Cycle of CCMH course is a step further towards promoting and encouraging the development, advancement and exchange of scientific information in all aspects of research, awareness, prevention, detection, evaluation, treatment and control of hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases to reduce morbidity and mortality, ultimately strengthening the capacity of primary care doctors to deal with the enormous challenges that Hypertension poses, with the ultimate aim of improving the health outcomes of people.”

 

This unique course supported by an educational grant from Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited, aims to strengthen the technical competencies of primary care physicians in the management of hypertension and associated complications. CCMH will be conducted in 25 regional centres spread across 13 states, 1 Union Territory (UT) and 21 cities in its first cycle. The course has received an overwhelming response and a total of 611 primary care physicians have been enrolled for the first cycle against the initial target of 375. The course curriculum has been vetted by a panel of 11 national experts that comprise of the most renowned specialists in the field of hypertension across India. The 10 modular course has been designed to be delivered once-a-month on a designated weekend. The course will be administered by regional faculty who are eminent cardiologists/ internists of their respective cities. The criteria for award of certificate is -- participation in 9 out of the 10 monthly contact sessions (Including the pre-test and post-test of each module), completion of assigned course work (two descriptive assignments based on completed modules to be submitted during II and III module) and appearance and clearance of final written examination in the form of MCQ’s in an hour, along with Module 10 ( minimum of 50% score to clear the examination).

 

For more information, please visit www.phfi.org