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Click here for this book 'Kakka
Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
Uncontrolled high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a huge public health menace around the world. Hypertension wreaks havoc by increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, among other things. While uncontrolled hypertension increases serious consequences including death, it has been well established that controlling hypertension decreases the risk of such consequences. Despite a well-organised public education campaign around the world, the effective control of high blood pressure is still a dream for most patients.
In a recent notification by the Centers for Disease Control in USA, the agency said in America, only about 30 per cent of the patients with a diagnosis of hypertension had established good control over it. This failure was not due to lack of effort on the patient’s part. In fact, an overwhelming majority of the patients are taking efforts, including exercise, taking medications and making dietary changes. Nevertheless, many patients are not doing enough for long enough periods of time to ensure adequate control of the blood pressure.
In India, research studies conducted in
2004 show that about 25-30 per cent of the people living in
the cities and about 10-15 per cent of the people living in
the rural areas have high blood pressure. High blood pressure
is also thought to be responsible for about 25 per cent of
the heart attack deaths and more than 50 per cent of
stroke-related deaths in India. Uncontrolled hypertension can
also lead to kidney failure, among other things. Considering
all these deadly complications of uncontrolled blood
pressure, one would think that more would be done to keep
this silent killer in check.
Unfortunately, the measures that need to
be enforced to keep blood pressure under check are simple but
unglamorous. Regular exercise, dietary modification and
regular consumption of medications when necessary, are
measures that will work if regularly complied with.
Genetic variations in different
populations in different parts of the world make hypertension
a problem of different severity. The influence of genetic
predisposition to hypertension in the Indian population is
yet to be studied in detail. Economic prosperity and
lifestyle changes that accompany it have been shown to
influence the burden of hypertension in a given society.
India, with its burgeoning economy and the lifestyle changes,
will have to be on watch for a rising burden of hypertension
and its consequence.
Target blood pressure goals:
Blood pressure is generally represented by
an upper number called systolic blood pressure and a lower
number designated as diastolic blood pressure. It is
numerically represented as, for example, 120/70 mm hg
(millimeters of mercury). The goal for normal blood pressure
is 140/90. This number is set at 130/85 in patients with
either diabetes or kidney failure.
When visiting with a doctor, always make
sure that you ask for the blood pressure numbers. Keeping
track of these values over time will act as clues for
detecting emerging high blood pressure problem and help with
instituting required measures to control it.
Keeping up with your blood pressure
numbers will help you keep up with your health – especially
heart health.
Click here for this book 'Kakka
Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
Dr G Balachander
Cardiologist
Illinois, USA
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