Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious medical condition that causes damage to the heart, brain, kidney, and eyes. As per WHO, hypertension affects an estimated 1.28 billion persons aged 30 to 79 worldwide. An estimated 46% of persons with hypertension are completely ignorant of their illness (Hypertension is a silent/ asymptomatic disease).
What is hypertension?
The force generated by blood circulation on the walls of arteries, or blood vessels, is known as blood pressure. When blood pressure is considerably higher, this situation is hypertension.
Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers. The first one is systolic pressure which indicates the pressure in blood vessels during the heartbeat and the second one is diastolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries while the heart is at rest between beats.
If the systolic blood pressure readings on two different days are both 140 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure readings on both days are 90 mmHg, hypertension is diagnosed.
Risk Factors of hypertension:
- Unhealthy diet
- Excessive salt intake
- Less physical activity
- Tobacco or Alcohol
- Obesity
- Hereditary
Common Symptoms of Hypertension:
Most people having hypertension are not aware of this issue because there are no significant symptoms of hypertension. Blood pressure should be measured and frequent doctor consultations to diagnose and manage hypertension as soon as it is identified to prevent damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
Severe hypertension symptoms include vomiting, confusion in the decision, muscle pain, anxiety, and fatigue. Uncontrolled hypertension could lead to heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, kidney failure, blindness, and strokes.
How can we prevent Hypertension?
- Lower salt intake
- More fruit and vegetable consumption
- More physical activity
- Lower alcohol and no tobacco consumption
- Reduction of trans fat in the diet
- Regular blood pressure check-ups
- Controlling other health problems
- Regular doctor consultation and a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of hypertension.
