World Hypertension Day is commemorated on May 17th, with a focus on a common silent killer and the need to: Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it and live longer!
Hypertension known as high blood pressure kills more people than any other health condition. Around 10 million people die of uncontrolled high blood pressure worldwide each year. This is more than the total deaths from all infectious diseases put together.
The data worldwide on the numbers suffering from hypertension are chilling.
Of a world population of 7.7 billion (as at 2020), an estimated 1.4 billion (nearly 18% or close to 1/5th of people) have high blood pressure. But only about half of them have been diagnosed and even among those diagnosed, only about half show good control.
This means that among those with high blood pressure only around 14% or 1 in 7 people have it under control.
The reason for this deadly scenario is under-diagnosis because it is a silent condition without the manifestation of symptoms, unlike other diseases. A person is usually diagnosed with high blood pressure when it has tragically peaked through a life-threatening heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke.
In Sri Lanka, it is no different, with high blood pressure being one of the main contributors to the high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
One in 4 adults suffers from the condition in Sri Lanka, brought home starkly by the STEPS Survey of 2015 conducted among a nationally-representative sample of adults.
The survey showed that the proportion of people with high blood pressure was 26.1% of whom 25.4% are males (1 in 4) and 26.7% females (just over 1 in 4).
The proportion of Sri Lankan adults on medication from among those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure was 57.7%.
With World Hypertension Day 2022 having as its theme ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer!’ the WHO Country Office joins the Directorate of NCD of the Ministry of Health to encourage people to get their blood pressure measured including taking self-measurements.
If diagnosed, regular medication and follow-up measurements to ensure good control are vital to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks, kidney damage and other health problems. It is equally important for people to reduce their salt intake to less than 5 g/day per person, which is about one leveled teaspoon of salt per day; engage in physical activity; and avoid tobacco as measures to reach better control to ward off high blood pressure.