As the world marked Hypertension Day on Friday, doctors have said four out of 10 adults worldwide have high blood pressure and only 50 per cent are aware of it. Doctors feel that it is a matter of concern that many patients believe that hypertension is a disease that can be “cured” and stop or reduce medication when their blood pressure levels fall to normal levels.

In 2000, the estimated number of adults living with high blood pressure globally was around 972 million. This is expected to increase to 1.56 billion by 2025!

The doctors have advised lifestyle changes like losing weight, eating more polyunsaturated fat, reducing the salt content in diet and taking regular exercise to keep the blood pressure level under control.

Dr Dilip Kumar, cardiologist with Medica Superspecialty Hospital, said only one half of the patients with high blood pressure have so far been diagnosed. Of them, only half have been treated, and only half of those treated have normal blood pressure, he said.

Given the poor lifestyle, he said the hypertension prevalence is expected to increase considerably in the coming years. Lifestyle factors, such as physical inactivity, a salt-rich diet with high processed and fatty foods, and alcohol and tobacco use, are reasons for this increased disease burden.

More so prolonged sitting is now considered as equivalent of smoking in causing harm, hence keep moving and keep working to keep away hypertension and cardiovascular disease, said Dr Kumar.

A large-scale population-based study of diabetes care in India published in BMC Medicine too noted that nearly half of the young and productive Indians are not aware of their diabetes and hypertension status that remained undetected for years.

The findings of the researchers at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, University of Birmingham and University of Gottingen, have shown that proportion of adults with diabetes who are aware treated and achieved control is low.

The study also found adults living in rural areas, men, and those who were poorer and less educated, were even less likely to receive the care they need.

One of the authors of the study, Dr Ashish Awasthi, Assistant Professor (INSPIRE Faculty) at the PHFI said, “Diabetes is a growing challenge in India, and a major cause of cardiovascular deaths and renal dysfunction. Considering the co-existence of diabetes and hypertension with poor level of awareness, treatment and control, it is necessary to focus on primary prevention and screening efforts, as a cost-effective strategy to reduce the impact of diabetes on population health in India.”

“We have observed that every 8th person who took Indus Health Plus’s Preventive Health Checkup last year was suffering from Hypertension. While those from urban areas blamed work pressure and job insecurity for rising levels of stress and eventually hypertension, people from semi-rural and rural area blamed the increasing cost and in-house expenditure. If not treated in time, hypertension can lead to heart problems, renal and multiple organ failure, hence timely and routine check-up is must,” said Amol Naikawadi, preventive healthcare specialist, Indus Health Plus.