Know Your Blood Pressure - This World Hypertension Day

To increase the awareness about hypertension among the masses, 17th of May is observed as World Hypertension Day. This day serves as a platform to increase the knowledge about hypertension, how one can actually control it efficiently, or avoid getting high blood pressure or hypertension all together.

The theme for the year 2017 is 'Know Your Blood Pressure.' According to the World health Organization (WHO), hypertension, also known as high or raised blood pressure (BP), is a condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure, putting them under increased stress.

‘Blood Pressure is caused primarily due to sedentary lifestyle, growing urbanization, tobacco use and the increasing influence of the fast food culture.’

BP is created by the force of blood pushing against the walls of blood vessels (arteries) as the heart pumps it. The higher the pressure, the harder the heart has to pump.

Over a billion people all over the world suffer from hypertension and it is predicted to increase by 60 percent to 1.56 billion in 2025. It kills 8 million people every year worldwide and is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, foetal and maternal death in pregnancy, dementia and renal failure.

Two thirds of those with hypertension live in economically developing countries, including India. It is directly responsible for 57 percent of all stroke deaths and 24 percent of all coronary heart disease deaths in India.

Sedentary lifestyles, growing urbanization, tobacco use and fast food culture are some primary causes for high blood pressure. It is called the silent killer as it presents very little symptoms.

Dr Tapan Ghose, director, Cardiology, Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, gives some valuable information below to recognize and manage hypertension effectively:

Symptoms for Early detection:

• Early-morning headache
• Nosebleeds
• Irregular heartbeats
• Buzzing in the ears
• Tiredness, dizziness, weakness
• Nausea, confusion, anxiety
• Chest pain, Muscle tremors, breathlessness

Causes:

• Lack of exercise
• Alcohol consumption, smoking
• Obesity, Salt and Hypertension

Having excess salt places strain on the arteries, which carry blood, as a result of which, the tiny muscles in the artery walls become stronger and thicker. This makes the space inside the arteries smaller, raising blood pressure. The arteries gradually become so narrow that they clog up and the organs of the body receiving the blood become starved of oxygen and vital nutrients.

Prevention:

• Learning to manage stress through regular exercise, yoga, meditation
• Limiting intake of sodium by reducing the amount of salt
• Having a healthy diet, avoiding food with high saturated fats
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Being physically active
• Avoiding tobacco use and reducing alcohol intake
• Regularly checking blood pressure
• Maintaining a healthy weight as per age and body type
• Workplace wellness programmes to tackle hypertension
• Using the stairs instead of the lift, elevator
• Carrying home-cooked food instead of ordering take-out
• Getting up frequently from work stations and walking around every hour
• Staying calm under pressure and finding ways to manage workplace stress by taking a walk, deep breathing or talking it out with a colleague

Source: ANI