High blood pressure rising in Kashmir, lack of awareness becomes a challenge
Srinagar, : High blood pressure or hypertension, a manageable disorder is devouring lives in J&K, profusely due to the misconceptions around it. With one out of every three adults in urban J&K hypertensive, experts feel there is a dire need to bust the myths that risk their lives.
The theme of this year’s World Hypertension Day is “Measure Blood Pressure accurately and live longer”. Hypertension doesn’t present itself with any classical, textbook symptoms, says Dr Irfan Ahmed Bhat, Cardiologists at Super Specialty Hospital Srinagar. For this reason, he said, it is crucial that people check their blood pressure regularly and accurately. “Any individual aged 40 years and up needs to keep a watch on blood pressure and even for people who are between 30 to 40 years, blood pressure must be checked at least every three years,” he said. He said most people do not know they have high blood pressure, for most the standard taken as less than 140/90. “It is unfortunate that a person comes to know of his or her hypertension after it has caused some heart, kidney or vascular disease,” he said.
His warning is not sans data supporting the concern. In October last year, SKIMS Soura released the data from India Diabetes (IndiaB) Study, India’s largest study on diabetes, hypertension and other related parameters.
The study showed that 31.5 percent people in urban Jammu had hypertension. In Kashmir, the percentage of people with hypertension was 32.4 percent. In rural Kashmir, hypertension prevalence was 16.7 percent, while in rural Jammu, it was 24.8 percent. The study included individuals, both males and females above 20 years of age. IndiaB study exemplified how one in every three adults in J&K’s urban areas was living with hypertension, a condition that has been labeled a ‘silent killer’ by doctors.
Hypertension causes stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney damage, eye damage and many other life threatening conditions. It is called a silent killer because people for years do not come to know they have it, due to its lack of symptomatology. In addition, many people who know they have hypertension, are fooled into not adhering to their medications by a number of misconceptions and misbeliefs. Dr Imran Hafeez faculty of Cardiology at SKIMS Soura warned against risk a life style that adds ro risk of hypertension.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle, eat balanced meals, exercise, manage stress, and limit salt intake is his advice. “If you have hypertension, follow your treatment plan and consult your doctor for guidance. Let’s take control of our health and spread awareness to prevent hypertension-related risks,” he said. “There are some people who miss a dose of medicine and measure their blood pressure to find it normal. They are led to believe that their blood pressure can stay normal without medication. They do not understand that medications stay in our blood for days, so while they have missed a dose, they still have blood pressure lowering medication in their blood from the last dose,” said Dr Bhat. The key, doctors believe, is to stick to the medications that an expert, usually a physician, cardiologist or some other specialist has prescribed. “Measure blood pressure correctly and regularly, and live longer,” said Dr Bhat.
