World Hypertension Day: Insights into the ‘silent killer’
On the occasion of World Hypertension Day 2023, Abhishek Bhadra, a public health expert and lecturer at Popular Medical College, Dhaka, spoke to The Daily Star about the significance of the day and the dangers of hypertension.
The following is an excerpt from the interview:
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The Daily Star (DS): Please tell us about hypertension as a physician – a basic introduction for the layperson.
Abhishek Bhadra (AB): High blood pressure or hypertension is a condition where the arterial blood pressure (BP) of the body is persistently higher than the normal level. The typical blood pressure level is 120/80 mmHg. According to the American Heart Association, hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg. However, the Sigle measurement is not reliable for classifying someone as hypertensive. A physician should confirm it with more than one elevated blood pressure reading.
DS: May 17 is World Hypertension Day. What is it important?
AB: Every year on May 17, World Hypertension Day is observed to raise awareness about hypertension and encourage people to take action to prevent, detect, and control it. The day promotes the need for blood pressure monitoring, leading a healthy lifestyle, getting regular medical care, and encouraging collaboration among healthcare professionals, organisations, and legislators to address the global effect of hypertension through detection, and effective management.
DS: What is the theme of the day this year?
AB: "Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer" is the theme for World Hypertension Day 2023. It emphasises tackling global low awareness rates, particularly in low- to middle-income countries, and precise blood pressure measuring technology. World Hypertension Day aims to lessen the detrimental effects of high blood pressure on people's health and overall well-being worldwide by encouraging prevention, early detection, and effective management.
DS: Why should people be concerned about hypertension?
AB: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hypertension affects around one billion people globally, with consequences resulting in over 7.5 million deaths each year, making it the leading cause of mortality and morbidity on a global scale. Furthermore, hypertension is a major cause of a variety of health problems, including strokes, heart attacks, and kidney disease, and it can also lead to dementia. It is a major risk factor for heart failure and atrial fibrillation in the elderly. As a result, World Hypertension Day emphasises the significance of hypertension management and raises awareness of the causes and hazards of high blood pressure. Its goal is to urge individuals, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers to take the required steps towards hypertension detection, diagnosis, and prevention.
HYPERTENSION PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• Maintain a healthy weight: Aim for a body mass index (BMI) within the normal range (18.5-24.9). If you are overweight, even a modest weight loss can significantly reduce your blood pressure.
• A balanced diet: Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products. Limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium (salt), and added sugars.
• Limit daily sodium intake to less than 2.3 gm or even lower if your healthcare provider advises. Sodium reduction can be helpful to prevent hypertension and reduce blood pressure in those already diagnosed with hypertension.
• Exercise regularly: Engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercises, such as brisk walking, cycling, or swimming, for at least 150 minutes per week or vigorous-intensity aerobic activities for at least 75 minutes per week.
• Quit smoking: Smoking damages blood vessels and can increase the risk of hypertension.
• Manage stress: Chronic stress can contribute to high blood pressure. Explore stress-reducing techniques such as regular physical activity, relaxation exercises, meditation, or engaging in hobbies and activities you enjoy.
• Get regular check-ups: Check your blood pressure regularly. Do not hesitate to visit your doctor if any abnormalities are found. This can help detect any changes in blood pressure early and allow for appropriate intervention if needed.
DS: When should a person check their blood pressure?
AB: Many people who suffer from hypertension are unaware that they have it as there are no symptoms, and hence it is often called "the silent killer". While undetected, it can cause damage to the cardiovascular system and internal organs. For this reason, regularly checking up on your blood pressure is vital, especially for people in the middle and old age groups, as there will usually be no symptoms to make you aware of the condition. However, severe hypertension shows some symptoms of headaches, sleepiness, palpitation, blurred vision, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, ringing sensations in the ears, breathing difficulty, and an irregular heartbeat, which may even lead to coma. If anyone experiences these symptoms, he/she should check their blood pressure and consult a doctor.
DS: What are the actual causes and major risk factors for this silent killer?
AB: Like other non-communicable diseases, hypertension is not caused by any organism or causative agent. Rather, some risk factors and secondary consequences of some diseases are responsible for the high blood pressure of an individual. Notably, in about 90 percent of cases, there is no specific reason or cause behind high BP; this is called primary or essential blood pressure and is more likely to be common in the elderly.
In contrast, causes of secondary hypertension are kidney damage, adrenal gland overactivity, sleep apnea syndrome, tumours, recreational drugs, thyroid gland dysfunction, aortic coarctation, pregnancy-related conditions. etc. On the other hand, age, positive family history, smoking, alcohol, excess salt intake, obesity, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, and excess stress are the main risk factors for hypertension.
DS: What are the effects of high blood pressure on our bodies?
AB: Uncontrolled blood pressure, without a doubt, can have serious consequences for the body's vital organs. Consequences of hypertension can cause numerous serious complications, for instance, myocardial infarction in the heart, stroke in the brain, and renal failure in the kidney that may even lead to death. Moreover, blindness can occur due to retinal damage in the eye of a person with prolonged and uncontrolled blood pressure.
DS: What should a person do after a hypertension diagnosis?
AB: Hypertension is not a curable disease, but it is preventable and can be controlled by some simple but effective measures. To treat primary hypertension, one must change their lifestyle and follow healthy living habits such as quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, limiting sodium intake to 1.5 to 2.5 grams per day, eating a low-fat and high-fibre diet, eating fruits and green vegetables, practising proper physical exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and checking blood pressure regularly. In addition, any medicine provided by a doctor should be continued.
To be more specific, I would say it is seen that prevention is the primary key to avoiding hypertension, and it completely depends on our will and work. If we can make these preventive measures achievable by changing our modern sedentary and foodie lifestyles and raising awareness about healthy health habits among people of all classes and ages around us, the goal of marking 'World Hypertension Day' may be achieved.
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