STUDY REVEALS: 15 per cent of 1922 participants from state were found to be hypertensive
In what could be an eye-opener, a study on 1,922 randomly selected persons in Gujarat, who are not on any hypertension medicine, has revealed that almost 20 per cent of them have white coat hypertension, whereas around 19 per cent have masked hypertension.
Masked hypertension is defined as a condition in which a person has normal blood pressure in the doctors' clinic, but might suffer from high blood pressure at home or office. On the contrary, white coat hypertension, also known as white coat syndrome, is a phenomenon in which a person exhibits a blood pressure level above the normal range in a doctor's clinic or hospital.
Those with white coat hypertension are misdiagnosed and put on anti-hypertension drugs, which is not required. Similarly, a patient with masked hypertension may go undiagnosed running the risk of complications of the heart, kidneys, and brain, leading to premature mortality.
Interestingly, the study titled 'India Heart Study' also revealed that 15 per cent of the patients who participated in it from Gujarat were found to be hypertensive. Also, it was found that heart rate and blood pressure of the participants was higher in the evening than morning, which essentially means that the timing of taking blood pressure medicines recommended by doctors plays an important role.
In all, 18,918 persons from 355 cities across 15 states, participated in the study and they were selected randomly by 1,233 doctors. Only consenting adults were included in the study, who met the criteria of not being on any hypertension medicine and having systolic blood pressure recordings of 100 to 180 mmHg and 60 to 100 mmHg diastolic blood pressure.
According to Eris Lifesciences president (medical) Viraj Suvarna, the biggest problem in the management of hypertension in India is 'misdiagnosis' and 'missed diagnosis'. He added that several doctors use the older mercury devices for measuring blood pressure and many of these devices are not calibrated properly.
Suvarna also said an increase in 20 mmHg systolic blood pressure or 10 mmHg diastolic blood pressure can lead to more than 2 fold increase in mortality due to stroke, ischemic heart disease, and vascular diseases. Validated and accurate measurement of blood pressure is the key to diagnose and treat hypertension.
Doctors suggested that stress levels are different for a person in different settings and therefore, it is essential that apart from the clinic, the person's blood pressure is also monitored at home and office. They also suggested that it is better to go for 24-hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for borderline blood pressure patients to get the real picture and to understand the fluctuations in blood pressure throughout the day.
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Interestingly, the study titled 'India Heart Study' also revealed that 15 per cent of the patients who participated in it from Gujarat were found to be hypertensive. Also, it was found that heart rate and blood pressure of the participants was higher in the evening than morning, which essentially means that the timing of taking blood pressure medicines recommended by doctors plays an important role.
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