'Control your blood pressure to prevent fatal hypertension'

By Mahima Devkota, Kathmandu, Oct. 19: The mortality rate from hypertension can be reduced by 57 per cent if the blood pressure is controlled.

In a programme entitled Management of High Blood Pressure Utilizing Trained Community Health Workers, organized by Nepal Development Society, JOHNS HOPKINS University and Resolve to solve lives today, Dr. Abhinav Vaidya, Professor of the Kathmandu Medical College said that hypertension needs immediate medical intervention and most of the times, medicine, however, many people in Nepal are not aware that they have hypertension. As a result, many do not seek the necessary treatment, which leads to a high risk of developing chronic diseases and mortality as high as 57 per cent more than patients with controlled blood pressure.

He said that around 2.4 million Nepali are not aware that they have hypertension, 3.8 million are not untreated and 3.58 Nepali people have uncontrolled hypertension.

There is a lack of screening and medical diagnosis is still not in access for many Nepalese, due to which, the high pressure gets entreated and becomes severe with time. Also, in most cases of hypertension, there is a need for long-term medicine use however, there is part of negligence from patients in medicine use, that is, many people do not use medicine timely, discontinue using them without consulting a doctor and sometimes, even medical doctors are hesitant in prescribing medicine, therefore, hypertension is not controlled.

The mortality from hypertension can be reduced only if each and every people are aware that there is a need to take medicine to control hypertension.

Dr. Larry J Appel, director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, said that elevated blood pressure is the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide. Around 10.5 million people die from hypertension followed by smoking (6.3 million), high plasma glucose (5.6 million), High BMI (4.5 million), and Cholesterol (4.4 million).

                                                                     1 in 4 adults have hypertension in Nepal

Dr. Sweta Koirala, Executive Director of the Nepal Development Society said that one in four people above 18 years in Nepal has developed hypertension, and to prevent high pressure there is a need for mass outreach. For that, a medical diagnosis should be held by health workers and non-medicals need to be equipped with training for screening hypertension and giving them enough medicine to keep it in check.

Hypertension can be controlled with a proper awareness of the disease and an understanding of the role of medicine in controlling it, making it accessible to each doorstep and mobilizing and equipping non-medical health workers, she said,