Blood pressure bleep for life on fast lane

A fifth of the world’s population is hypertensive. Yet more than half of them are unaware of their condition.

A disorder that was more common among geriatric population about two decades ago, hypertension is now increasingly becoming the concern of the youth in their prime as the average age of hypertension patients has fallen drastically in the last generation. People in their twenties and thirties suffer from high blood pressure.

“Compared to 10 years ago, the instances of hypertension has increased by quite a significant number, to may be almost one in five,” said Dr Arvind Jagdish from Suguna Hospital, Rajajinagar. Reasons? Earlier, people used to relax, exercise and follow healthy lifestyles. However, now, no one has time for himself or herself, the doctor explained.

Today’s generation, according to experts, experience more stress which is one of the leading causes of hypertension. “Everyone today is working on a target-oriented way under tight deadlines, leading to immense stress,” Dr Jagdish pointed out.

Trends show that hypertension patients are now younger than they were a decade ago. Dr Ram Murthy Bingi, chief cardiologist, Apollo Hospital, said, “Hypertension is caused by a combination of genes and the environment, but over the last 10 years the environment has been playing an increasingly larger role.” Our environments lead to situations of more mental stress and less physical activity, two very important factors causing high blood pressure. There is also an increase in the trend to eat at fast food joints where the salt content in the food is high, said Dr Murthy.

Stressing the risk factors of hypertension, Dr Murthy said, “Blood pressure is a risk factor in the development of heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems. And these diseases become premature when younger people develop unhealthy habits.”
Solution? At least 45 minutes of physical activity every day, along with mind controlling exercises like deep breathing for about 15 minutes a day could be relaxing and helpful, said Dr Murthy.