17th MAY: WORLD HYPERTENSION DAY

17^th MAY: WORLD HYPERTENSION DAY

The leading cause of cardiovascular mortality is hypertension, or as most people know it, high blood pressure.  A fact is that more than 50% of the hypertensive population worldwide are unaware of their condition. To address this problem, World Hypertension Day have been innovative in their activities to get the message to the public by using mass media such as Internet, television, and Awareness Days so that the message can reach almost all the estimated 1.5 billion people affected by elevated blood pressure.

Hypertension is known as the silent killer as it has no symptoms or symptoms that go unnoticed, and is defined as a constant elevated blood pressure (above 140/90) and is a risk factor for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and angina.

● Familial hypertension is a genetic/ inherited high blood pressure where there is family history of hypertension

● Gestational Hypertension is an elevated blood pressure only during pregnancy

● Age related hypertension: the likelihood of blood pressure increases with age. Nearly 8 in 10 South

Africans over the age of 55 years have high blood pressure, and four in 10 adults older than 25 years of age have hypertension, mostly because of physical inactivity; an unhealthy diet high in salt and low in fruits and vegetables; being overweight or obese; excessive alcohol intake and/or smoking and tobacco use.

Treatment options for a person who is already been diagnosed with hypertension includes self-management – eating heart healthy diet less in salt; getting regular exercise; limiting alcohol consumption and quitting smoking; and monitoring blood pressure and if necessary to take medication.

Manage stress and anxiety as this can directly increase blood pressure.

Know your numbers!

Make small lifestyle changes can make a big difference!