World Hypertension League (WHL)
The WHL is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to the prevention and control of hypertension globally. WHL membership is currently comprised of 80 national hypertension societies who are members of our Council and led by the WHL Executive, Board, Council, and Committees. The WHL is a global organization with regional offices in North and South America, China, South East Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, the South Pacific, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The WHL is in official relations with the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The official journal of the WHL is The Journal of Human Hypertension (JHH).
Our Leadership
Executive
Prof. Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MScPresident
Show Chwan Professor of Global Public Health
Tulane Univ. Public Health & Tropical Med
New Orleans, LA, USA
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Tulane Univ. Public Health & Tropical Med
New Orleans, LA, USA
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Prof. Gianfranco Parati, MDPresident-Elect
Honorary Professor of Cardiovasc. Medicine, Univ. of Milano-Bicocca; Scientific Director & Head, Dept. of Cardiology, S. Luca Hospital, IRCCS, Milano, Italy; Terms of Service: 2022 - 2025
Dr. Xin-Hua Zhang, MD, PhDPast President
Professor of Medicine
Beijing Hypertension League Institute
Beijing, China
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Beijing Hypertension League Institute
Beijing, China
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Dr. N.S. Narasingan, MDVice President
President, Indian Society of Hypertension
Managing Director, SNN Specialties Clinic
Chennai, India
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Managing Director, SNN Specialties Clinic
Chennai, India
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Prof. Bader Almustafa, MDSecretary General
Clinical Hypertension Specialist
The Saudi Hypertension Management Society
Qatif, Saudi Arabia
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
The Saudi Hypertension Management Society
Qatif, Saudi Arabia
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Prof. Markus Schlaich, MDTreasurer
Nephrologist & Hypertension Specialist
Dobney Chair in Clinical Research, Dobney Hypertension Centre
Perth, Western Australia
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Dobney Chair in Clinical Research, Dobney Hypertension Centre
Perth, Western Australia
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Board of Directors
Prof. Mario Fritsch NevesBoard Member
Professor of Internal Medicine
State University of Rio de Janeiro
Past President, Brazilian Society of Hypertension
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
State University of Rio de Janeiro
Past President, Brazilian Society of Hypertension
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
Prof. Leilani B. Mercado-AsisBoard Member
Imm. Past Pres. Philippine Society of Hypertension
Program Director, UST Master in Public Health
University of Leeds, UK
Terms of Service:
2021 - 2023
Program Director, UST Master in Public Health
University of Leeds, UK
Terms of Service:
2021 - 2023
Prof. Mayowa Ojo Owolabi, MBBS Board Member
Center for Genomic and Precision Medicine
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan
Pioneering Regional VP
World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation
Nigeria, West Africa
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan
Pioneering Regional VP
World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation
Nigeria, West Africa
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Prof. Rajdeep Padwal, MDBoard Member
Prof. of Medicine, University of Alberta
Director, University of Alberta Hypertension and Dyslipidemia Clinic
Alberta, Canada
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
Director, University of Alberta Hypertension and Dyslipidemia Clinic
Alberta, Canada
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
Prof. Michael A. Weber, MDBoard Member
Professor of Medicine
Div. of Cardiovascular Medicine State University of New York
Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
Div. of Cardiovascular Medicine State University of New York
Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2024
Special Advisors
Dr. Liu Lisheng, MDSpecial Advisor
Director, Clinical Trial Research Center
Beijing Hypertension League Institute
Professor of Medicine, Fu Wai Hospital, CAMS
Vice Director, NCCD, China
WHL Past President
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Professor of Medicine, Fu Wai Hospital, CAMS
Vice Director, NCCD, China
WHL Past President
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Prof. Norman R.C. Campbell, CM MDSpecial Advisor
Depts of Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Physiology and Pharmacology
University of Calgary
Alberta, Canada
WHL Past President
Terms of Service:
2021 - 2025
University of Calgary
Alberta, Canada
WHL Past President
Terms of Service:
2021 - 2025
Prof. Daniel T. Lackland, DrPHSpecial Advisor
Professor of Epidemiology, Director, Division of Translational Neurosciences and Population Studies, Department of Neurology,
Medical University of South Carolina,
United States
WHL Past President & Newsletter Editor-in-Chief
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Medical University of South Carolina,
United States
WHL Past President & Newsletter Editor-in-Chief
Terms of Service:
2022 - 2025
Mary TrifaultWHL Senior Administrator
Newsletter Associate Editor
New York, NY USA
New York, NY USA
Regional Offices
China Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Xin-Hua Zhang
Eastern European Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Krasimira Hristova
Mid East Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Bader Almustafa
Sub-Sahara Regional Office
RO Director: Prof. Mayowa Ojo Owolabi
South America Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Mario Fritsch Neves
Southeast Asia Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Narsingh Verma
South Pacific Regional Office
RO Director: Dr. Markus Schlaich
Outreach
The WHL’s premier outreach event is World Hypertension Day held annually on May 17th, in conjunction with May Measurement Month. This year’s theme was Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer focusing on combatting low awareness rates worldwide, especially in low to middle income areas, and accurate blood pressure measurement methods. Some new resources include a free online course on accurate automated blood pressure measurement, and guidelines for checking accuracy of BP monitors in 16 languages. The Children’s Art Competition and the announcement of the annual WHL Excellence Awards are also held in conjunction with World Hypertension Day. Additionally, the WHL publishes a free quarterly newsletter which includes advances in high blood pressure treatment, descriptions of the activities of the member organizations, a calendar that lists major upcoming meetings on cardiovascular-related topics throughout the world, member success stories for knowledge translation and updates on new hypertension resources, reports, and publications. Recent highlights include the Sao Paulo Call to Action for the Prevention & Control of High Blood Pressure in 2019 and the Call to Action to Control Hypertension in Africa in 2021. A bi-annual conference is held in conjunction with a national hypertension society conference, which is open to members and non-members alike.
Mission & Mandate
Hypertension is a driving force in the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and is the leading risk factor for death and disability globally. Global statistics indicate that less than half of adults with hypertension (SBP ≥140 mm Hg, DBP≥0 mm Hg, or treatment with antihypertensive medication), worldwide, are aware that they have high BP (<40% in low- and middle-income countries) and that fewer than 20% are controlled.
The burden of hypertension is greatest where resources are the lowest, with developing countries disproportionately impacted by hypertension. The World Economic Forum describes NCDs as the greatest threat to economic development, predicting a cumulative loss in global economic output of $47 trillion USD, or 5% of gross domestic product, by 2030. The importance of the WHL mission is emphasized by the United Nations (UN) Global Health Summit on NCDs which agreed to nine health targets to be achieved by 2025. The UN health targets include a 25% reduction in uncontrolled hypertension and a 30% reduction in dietary salt. To help reduce this burden, the WHL is currently focused on the:
The burden of hypertension is greatest where resources are the lowest, with developing countries disproportionately impacted by hypertension. The World Economic Forum describes NCDs as the greatest threat to economic development, predicting a cumulative loss in global economic output of $47 trillion USD, or 5% of gross domestic product, by 2030. The importance of the WHL mission is emphasized by the United Nations (UN) Global Health Summit on NCDs which agreed to nine health targets to be achieved by 2025. The UN health targets include a 25% reduction in uncontrolled hypertension and a 30% reduction in dietary salt. To help reduce this burden, the WHL is currently focused on the:
- development of international and national partnerships,
- use of strategic approaches to hypertension prevention and control,
- enhancement of healthy environments through healthy public policy and especially through reduction in dietary salt,
- information exchanges and knowledge translation,
- utilization of evidence-based resources (e.g. Global Burden of Disease Study) to promote health and hypertension control,
- promotion of high quality monitoring of population blood pressure levels, hypertension prevalence, diagnosis, treatment and control, and
- providing resources that may be adopted particularly in vulnerable populations.
Vision &
Core Values
The WHL is committed to optimizing and advancing prevention and control of hypertension through collaborative work with member organizations, like-minded governmental and non-governmental partner organizations, and Best Practices. We are committed to helping member organizations and their populations achieve 25-80% hypertension control.
Through its various programs, the WHL seeks to assist a wide variety of organizations, individuals, health care providers, and communities throughout the world. The quality of the services provided is defined by adherence to our mission in terms of the following core values: Forward Thinking, Philanthropy, Passion, Transparency (Integrity), Knowledge Translation and Sharing, and Open Communication.
Through its various programs, the WHL seeks to assist a wide variety of organizations, individuals, health care providers, and communities throughout the world. The quality of the services provided is defined by adherence to our mission in terms of the following core values: Forward Thinking, Philanthropy, Passion, Transparency (Integrity), Knowledge Translation and Sharing, and Open Communication.
- Forward Thinking: We feel that the solutions to hypertension control and prevention lie in looking forward and don’t want to be constrained by what has already been done.
- Transparency (Integrity): We exhibit transparency and integrity in our operations so that our members and others know that they can trust us and that we are accountable for our actions.
- Knowledge Translation and Sharing: We facilitate the sharing of knowledge in areas related to hypertension so that our members and others can easier access and use this information in their work. We also are continually creating resources to add to the existing pool and give our members and others more information to further their individual missions.
- Philanthropy: Our work is driven by our desire to help our members and the communities we serve
- Passion: Our passion is a sign of our organization’s compelling enthusiasm for our work on preventing and controlling hypertension at the population level
- Open Communication: We encourage open communication within our organization, with members and with partner organizations it helps stimulate the free-flow of ideas, which we feel is important in working with issues such as Non-communicable Diseases.
