Globally, 7 million people die every year because of high blood pressure or hypertension.
1.5 billion people suffer as a result of the disease which is the biggest single risk factor for death worldwide causing heart disease, stroke and kidney disease and diabetes.
High blood pressure, which ultimately leads to hypertension, is a form of cardiovascular disease, CVD.
Cardiovascular disease is a number of disease conditions that involve the heart and/or
blood vessels.
CVD is the leading cause of death and disability in every part of the world. An estimated 37 million people worldwide suffer a cardiovascular event. In Western countries, CVD accounts for nearly one in every three deaths.
Asides high blood pressure, other forms of CVD are, Angina, heart attack (myocardial infarction), congestive heart failure (CHF), stroke, peripheral vascular Disease (PVD).
Complications of CVD according to worldwide facts are; dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, metabolic Syndrome and diabetes.
Some risk factors for CVDs are controllable and others cannot be controlled.
Those that can be modified, eliminated or controlled are smoking, drinking too much alcohol, not performing regular physical exercise, being overweight, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stress and kidney disease.
Whoever is a male, or of a matured age or has a family history of CVD are at a high risk of having any of the cardiovascular diseases.
The two major players in the development of CVD are high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
High Blood Pressure is most commonly known as hypertension.
It is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure is elevated.
Many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it.
Most of the time, there are no symptoms, but when high blood pressure goes untreated, it damages arteries and vital organs throughout the body.
That is why high blood pressure is often called the “silent killer”.
A silent killer without any symptoms, this disease is a global epidemic which causes progressive and severe damage to the circulatory system over time. It puts stress on the arteries, and makes the heart work too hard.
Blood pressure higher than 140/90 (is known as hypertension).
In order to reduce the death recorded yearly as a result of hypertension, May 17 was set aside as the world hypertension day. The theme for this year is ‘Healthy lifestyle - Healthy blood pressure.’
The medical director of Pfizer NEAR, Dr Kodjo Soroh said, World Hypertension Day has been established to highlight the preventable stroke, heart and kidney diseases caused by high blood pressure and to communicate to the public information on prevention, detection and treatment.
He identified three keys to a healthy lifestyle which could have a direct effect on having a healthy blood pressure as watching weight, healthy food choices and living an active life.
He explained it thus:
Watch weight. In our rapidly changing world, the number of over-weight and obese people is on the rise. Being overweight can lead to hypertension. A good way to monitor weight is to regularly keep tabs on ‘Body Mass Index’. To calculate BMI, weight should be taken (in kilograms) and divide by height (in meters) squared.
In a statistics revealed by the world hypertension league:
Body mass index –
•Less than 18.5 is underweight
•From 18.5 to 24.9 is the right body weight
•From 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight
•From 30.0 to 39.9 is obese
•From 40.0 +, the person is morbidly obese.
Make healthy food choices. Eating healthy is always a good idea. First and foremost, do not skip meals. Be sure to eat three good meals a day. Here are some good common sense tips to follow.
•Try to limit portion size.
•Eat slowly and listen to the body.
•Read the labels and choose a lower salt option.
•Try limiting processed and fast foods like cookies, breakfast cereals, bread, burgers, cakes, pies and pizza.
Instead:
•Increase fruit and vegetable intake. Think about eating a rainbow of colours everyday.
•Try making one vegetarian meal a week.
•Eat nuts in their natural form as a quick snack.
•Drink no more than one standard drink of alcohol for women and no more than two for men.
Reduce sodium or salt intake.
• Look at food labels and choose low sodium.
•Try to limit process and fast foods.
•When cooking, do not add extra salt.
•Season foods with fresh herbs, lemon juice or vinegars.
•Make sauces from scratch instead of buying ready.
Live an active life
Every body was born to move. There is the need to get active with all forms of exercise that could be constant and convenient.
Try:
•Walking up the stairs at work.
•Park the car in a nearby place and walk the rest.
•Turn up the music and dance!
•Go for a walk at lunch.
•Someone working desk, should get up every hour, stretch, walk around.
•Play with the kids, grandkids or Neighbour’s outdoors.
•Check with a physician before starting an exercise programme especially a rigorous one.
The medical director further explained blood pressure as the measurement of the force applied against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood through the body. The force and amount of blood pumped, and the size and flexibility of the arteries determine your blood pressure number. A reading consists of two numbers, for example: 120/80, which is read as “120 over 80.”
In addition, Dr Soroh said that the first number, systolic blood pressure measures the maximum pressure exerted as the heart contracts.
He also said, a clinic measurement less than 140 mmHg is generally considered normal for an adult.
The lower number indicates diastolic pressure is a measurement taken between beats, when the heart is at rest.
The world hypertension league is of the opinion that blood pressure measured at home is usually lower than levels recorded by a doctor, so self recorded blood pressures below 135 mmHg for the upper systolic reading and below 85 mmHg for the lower diastolic reading are generally desirable.
“Most hypertensive patients require drug treatment. Treating hypertension with drugs prevents heart attacks and strokes. A hypertensive patient needs to have a healthcare provider for individualized care,” said Dr Soroh.
Source- The Nation
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