W.H.O. has chosen “Hypertension” as its theme for the year 2013. High ‘Blood Pressure’ (or BP) is rapidly increasing among both urban and rural populations. In fact, hypertension is the most prevalent chronic disease in India. People silently suffer from high blood pressure without realizing it and this ultimately leads to major health problems like ‘Stroke’.

Doctors say, “The biggest problem with hypertension is that there are no symptoms. Thus people tend to be unaware that they have hypertension. In addition, youth is very casual about their health. Most of them are not doing any physical exercise and are in fact glued to TV or Computer. Indian Habits of Namkeens, Samosas and lot of ‘Chatpata’ food that has high salt content in addition to trans fats is only adding to the problem.”

Experts add, “In India- a large number of people are in the pre-hypertension category - BP of 130/90 against the normal range of 120/90. People with BP of above 140/90 are considered to be in the hypertension category. Experts estimate patients with high BP is likely to rise as much as to 215 million by 2030 along with an increase in the risk of complications such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney problems and other serious illnesses.”

High BP is preventable and treatable in many cases with lifestyle changes such as cutting down on salt, eating a balanced diet, avoiding tobacco and alcohol and most importantly, regular exercise.