Hypertension Awareness and Control among Breast Cancer Survivors in Africa: An Emerging Priority for Integrated Survivorship Care
Nasira A. Sitar
Department of Pharmacy Kampala International University Uganda
Satar.nasira@studwc.kiu.ac.ug
ABSTRACT
Breast cancer survivorship is increasing in Africa as detection, treatment, and survival improve, while hypertension remains widespread and poorly controlled. Survivors may face heightened cardiovascular risk because of ageing, obesity, inactivity, existing cardiometabolic disease, treatment-related cardiac injury, fragmented follow-up, and limited preventive care. This review examines hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control among African breast cancer survivors, together with biological, behavioural, socioeconomic, treatment-related, and health-system determinants. Although survivor-specific evidence is limited, hypertension was present in 32.2% of 2,189 newly diagnosed women across five sub-Saharan African countries, ranging from 14.9% in Uganda to 50.5% among non-Black Namibian participants. Cancer therapies such as anthracyclines, HER2-targeted agents, radiotherapy, and some endocrine treatments may compound the effects of uncontrolled blood pressure. Major barriers include costs, medicine shortages, limited cardio-oncology expertise, competing priorities, and weak oncology-primary care coordination. Routine survivorship care should therefore include blood-pressure screening, risk assessment, education, affordable treatment, monitoring, and African research.
Keywords: hypertension; blood-pressure control; breast cancer; cancer survivors; cardio-oncology; Africa; survivorship; noncommunicable diseases.
CITE AS: Nasira A. Sitar (2026). Hypertension Awareness and Control among Breast Cancer Survivors in Africa: An Emerging Priority for Integrated Survivorship Care. IDOSR JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ALLIED FIELDS 11(3):70-74.
https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSR/JBBAF/2026/1137074