Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jul 20: Ignoring high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and other serious health conditions, doctors warn, adding that regular screening is essential for managing and monitoring blood pressure.
The medical professionals said that high blood pressure, or hypertension, is often called a “silent killer” because it typically has no symptoms but can lead to life-threatening health problems. They said regular checkups are necessary to detect and manage this condition.
Dr Shahnawaz, a cardiologist at DHSK, said that heart disease and stroke are among the most common complications associated with hypertension. “High blood pressure can damage your arteries, making them less elastic and decreasing the flow of blood and oxygen to your heart, leading to heart-related ailments,” he said, adding that increased pressure could cause blood vessels in the brain to burst or become blocked, which results in a stroke.
Dr Iqbal, another physician, said that high blood pressure could strain the kidneys and impair their ability to filter waste from the blood effectively. “Hypertension could damage blood vessels in the eyes, leading to vision problems, and limit blood flow to reproductive organs, causing sexual dysfunction,” he said.
According to doctors, every third or fourth adult in the region has hypertension, but almost half are unaware of their condition. “This silent killer doesn’t show symptoms during illness except for some vague signs attributed to other diseases,” they said. “Unfortunately, four out of five hypertensive patients are not keeping their blood pressure under control, which leads to severe consequences like heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.”
They observed that hypertension is also becoming more common among school-going children due to drastic lifestyle and dietary changes, including sedentary habits, high intake of salt, sugar, and fat, junk food consumption, smoking, substance abuse and stress.
The experts called for adopting an active lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, and monitoring blood pressure. They said regular checkups are crucial for detecting and managing high blood pressure early, which can reduce the risk of severe health issues.
The doctors also recommended lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol intake and quitting smoking to help manage and prevent high blood pressure.
