Indore (Madhya Pradesh): City doctors have sounded an alarm about the increasing cases of hypertension and said that every fifth person in the city is suffering from hypertension and the number is increasing due to a sedentary lifestyle.
“Even though the number of Covid-19 cases has reached the lowest level, the impact of the pandemic disease can be seen among patients even months after recovery. The disease has added many new patients of hypertension, while it has increased complications in patients who were already suffering from it,” cardiologist Dr Siddhant Jain said.
Referring to a study conducted in 2014-’15, Dr Jain said that about 25 per cent of people in the rural areas and 42 per cent in the urban areas are suffering from hypertension and, surprisingly, half of them are unaware of it.
Meanwhile, cardiac surgeon Dr Mohammed Ali said that people must make it a routine to go in for blood-pressure check-ups regularly as high blood pressure causes heart attacks, brain haemorrhage, kidney failure, and others.
“It’s better not to take anything about 30 minutes before going through a blood pressure check-up. Regular check-up is advised for everyone above 30 years of age. However, people shouldn’t believe digital machines blindly and get themselves checked through the mercury-based machine, as well,” he said.
‘28% of the people don’t know about the disease’
‘According to a report of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 28 per cent of people don’t know they have hypertension, while only 15 per cent of the patients get treated for the disease. Moreover, 12.5 per cent of the people could have controlled their blood pressure’ — Dr Rakesh Jain, cardiologist
Key facts (as per WHO)
§ Hypertension—or elevated blood pressure—is a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases
§ An estimated 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension—most (two-thirds) living in low- and middle-income countries
§ In 2015, 1 in 4 men and 1 in 5 women had hypertension
§ Fewer than 1 in 5 people with hypertension have the problem under control
§ Hypertension is a major cause of premature death worldwide
§ One of the global targets for non-communicable diseases is to reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 25% by 2025 (baseline 2010)
Ways to prevent hypertension
§ A walk for 30 minutes daily can reduce 8-10 mmHg blood pressure and also reduce weight
§ Should take Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which includes a reduction of carbohydrate and salt intake
§ Control your calorie count
