What’s all the hype about Hypertension?

See in PDF format: What’s all the hype about Hypertension?

Hypertension is a medical condition in which your blood pressure (the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels) is consistently elevated.1

Hypertension
is diagnosed when an adult (a person aged 18 years and above) is consistently measured to have a blood pressure of
≥140/≥90 mmHg3,4

According to the 2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey, about 17.5% of Filipinos aged 20 years and above have elevated blood pressure.5

Could you be one of those who have it?

Hypertensive diseases ranked 6th among the leading causes of deaths among Filipinos in 2019.6

You may be at risk for hypertension if you have the following risk factors7

  • Old age
  • African ancestry
  • A family history of hypertension
  • Obesity
  • Not being physically active
  • Tobacco use
  • High-salt diet
  • Low potassium diet
  • Excessive alcohol intake
  • Stress
  • Chronic diseases (diabetes, kidney diseases)

The higher your blood pressure (BP) and the longer the time that it remains uncontrolled, the greater would be its damage.7 It must be prevented from getting worse or developing complications,8 and the best way to do this is by knowing your BP, making the necessary lifestyle changes, and following the treatment plan recommended by your physician.1,8

References: 1. American Heart Association (AHA). What is high blood pressure? AHA resource page. Available at: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/the-facts-about-high-blood-pressure/what-
ishighblood-pressure. Accessed 2 August 2021. 2. Mayet J, Hughes A. Heart 2003;89:1104–1109. 3. Williams B, et al. Eur Heart J 2018;39:3021–3104. 4. Unger T, et al. Hypertension 2020;75:1334–1357. 5. Food and Nutrition
Research Institute-Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST). Expanded National Nutrition Survey: 2019 Results. FNRI-DOST resource page. Available at: http://enutrition.fnri.dost.gov.ph/site/uploads/2019%20ENNS%20
Results%20Dissemination_ADULTS%20and%20ELDERLY.pdf. Accessed 2 August 2021. 6. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Registered deaths in the Philippines, 2019. PSA resource page. Available at: https://psa.gov.ph/content/
registered-deaths-philippines-2019. Accessed 2 August 2021. 7. Mayo Clinic Staff. High blood pressure (hypertension). Mayo Clinic resource page. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/ diseases-conditions/high-blood-
pressure/symptoms-causes/sync-20373410?p=1. Accessed 2 August 2021. 8. MedlinePlus. How to prevent high blood pressure. MedlinePlus resource page. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/howtopreventhighbloodpressure.
html#. Accessed 2 August 2021.

 

 

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