As the world marks Hypertension Day on Thursday, cardiologists have called for more awareness and a healthy living habits to minimise hypertension—one of the leading health risks in the country.

Hypertension is a disease, caused by multiple factors which lead to heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney problems and other cardiovascular diseases.

People having blood pressure equal or above 130/80 mmHg are more prone to this disease, which can be minimised with healthy living habits and medication.

According to Cardiologist at Sahid Gangalal National Heart Centre Dr Chandramani Adhikari, several factors like sedentary lifestyle, intake of high amount of salt, overweight, smoking, regular alcohol consumption, lead to hypertension, which ultimately causes heart-attack and stroke.

“The patient must use prescribed medicines as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle to stay safe from hypertension. Also, they should maintain a healthy body weight, limit salt and oil consumption, and completely avoid smoking and alcohol,” suggested Dr Adhikari.

Hypertension is also known as a ‘silent-killer’ because hardly any signs or symptoms are witnessed on the patients.

Around 70 percent of the heart-attack patients under 40 years of age who visited the hospital in 2010 were suffering from hypertension, a study had found.

Another study had revealed that 30 percent of the total patients, who were admitted to the hospital in 2016 after heart attack, were suffering from hypertension.

According to the WHO, Nepal ranks 80th among 183 countries on high death rate due to hypertension, accounting for 14.98 percent of annual deaths per 100,000 caused by hypertension, which affects nearly 30 percent of the country’s population.

World Hypertension Day (WHD) is celebrated all around the globe on May 17 with a motto “know your number”. The day was also celebrated in Kathmandu by some private medical clinics and hospital, organising free blood pressure check-up camps and other awareness programmes. 

The Nepal Development Society (NEDS), a non-governmental organisation working in the health sector, is conducting a programme called May Measurement Month (MMM) under which they will be collecting data on hypertension cases in major cities of the country. The society has so far measured blood pressure of over 10,000 individuals, and recorded their details, according to Pabitra Babu Soti.

“Our data suggest one out of four peoples is suffering from hypertension while two out of three people know that they are suffering from it,” said Soti, adding, 28 percent of residents of Pokhara Lekhnath Metropolitan City are suffering from hypertension.

Dr Adhikari said another WHO study shows half of the world’s population are suffering from hypertension and 50 percent of them are aware of the disease. Only half of those diagnosed with hypertension had visited the doctor, said the study.