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Treat Hypertension With a Healthy Lifestyle

by Anne Trueman on Aug 27 2013 11:27 AM
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Hypertension or high blood pressure is described as a chronic medical condition characterized by elevated blood pressure in the arteries. Hypertension is becoming a serious threat across the world and is called the ‘silent killer’. Owing to the fast pace of lives today, surmounting competition in practically every field, food adulteration and other serious lifestyle alterations that have crept in our lives, cases of hypertension are rising every day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is making best efforts to cultivate awareness regarding hypertension and its life-threatening impacts on our lives. It has been reported that one among every three adults has raised blood pressure and is accountable for 9.4 million casualties around the world.

Healthy lifestyle alterations such as eating less fatty food, quitting tobacco, alcohol, eating less salt, etc. can keep your blood pressure under control. You should incorporate mild physical exercises in your daily routine.

Professor Shin Young-soo, the Regional Director for Western Pacific, WHO, Manila stated, “Recently, WHO and its member states committed themselves to reducing premature deaths from these diseases by 25 percent by 2025. I'm confident that we'll succeed, but only if we get high blood pressure under control. Everybody needs to be part of the solution. Governments have especially important roles to play. But it all starts with individuals and families.”

Hypertension is infamously known as ‘the silent killer’ because majority of the people are not aware of their illness as no predictable symptoms are noticed. Moreover it is not confined to any specific age and sex.

Gerry Bleakney, the head, Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement, PHA, mentioned, “The good news is that, once detected, high blood pressure can be successfully managed, either by making lifestyle changes or by taking medication. Staying active, eating more fruit and vegetables and keeping salt intake to a minimum can help in lowering blood pressure.”

During pregnancy, high blood pressure has deleterious effects. Experts from the National Institute of Health have forwarded a link between pregnancy induced hypertension and kidney and diabetes diseases. Dr. Robert Atlas from the Mercy Medical Center said, “It's a wake-up call to women who develop hypertension during pregnancy. So, if you develop pre-eclampsia, it's a precursor that you need to watch your diet, watch your weight and take better care of yourself, because you have a marked increased risk of developing hypertension or have a heart attack that can lead to death.”

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Finally it can be said that by introducing positive lifestyle changes such as healthy lifestyle and right attitude that are not seen in today’s so called modern life, can cure hypertension to a great extent.

Source-Medindia


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