Dr Hector PereraƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  England

Hypertension

After all, your dad or granddad might have had problems with it, but they’re in middle age and beyond. High blood pressure (also known asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ hypertension) is an old man’s disease.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ High blood pressureƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ hardly ever used to be diagnosed in people in their 20s, but now there are more cases than ever. It’s no longer uncommon for men in their 30s to be treated for high blood pressure.

“The fact is that men develop high blood pressure earlier than women and get it more,” says Professor Graham Mac Gregor, chairman of the Blood Pressure Association (BPA). “It’s probably because they eat more salt, but there are other factors too.”

That’s why it’s worth knowing about blood pressure – what it is, what your numbers should be and how to make sure they stay healthy. Here are the facts.

What is blood pressure?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Blood pressure is, as you might expect, the pressure of your pumping blood on the walls of blood vessels. If it’s too high, it can cause damage to arteries and even your heart.

More men than women suffer from high blood pressure and it’s becoming more common in younger age groups. Altogether, BPA figures say that one in three adults in the UK has high blood pressure and one in three of them don’t know they have it. How many people in Sri Lanka, on average have high blood pressure?

In UK, the situation might be even worse than that. According to a survey last year by Lloyds Pharmacy, a worrying 35% of those aged 16-34 have hypertension, and almost one in 20 of them showed severe or very severe raised blood pressure. Experts put the results down to binge drinking and bad diets. Unfortunately, some younger people think, drinking is a kind of show off but they are not aware of the damage done on long term basis.

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How do you know if your blood pressure is too high?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

The simple answer is that you probably don’t. Hypertension is one of those sneaky ailments that don’t tend to produce symptoms until real damage has been done.

Of course, you might have had your blood pressure taken during a routine visit to the GP. If you have, the figures you’re looking for, according to the BPA, are 120/80. If your blood pressure is below 120 over 80 you have a far lower risk of the medical problems high blood pressure can cause. Any higher and you’re starting to up your risks.

When you visit a doctor to check the blood pressure, a small pad is wound round the upper arm then check the blood pressure with a meter reading, in a matter of minutes. He or she might check it twice and compare the results. The process is simple, no injury or check the blood by piercing or nothing like that; itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a simple and an easy process. ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s possible some of you havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t being to your doctor just to check the blood pressure.

The numbers on the meter

Blood pressure readings have two numbers, for example 140/90.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 
TheƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ top number is yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ systolicƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ blood pressure. (The highest pressure, when your heart beats and pushes the blood round your body.) The bottom one is yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ diastolicƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ blood pressure. (The lowest pressure when your heart relaxes between beats.)

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What causes high blood pressure?

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It’s the usual culprits, we’re afraid. If you’re overweight, drink too much, eat too much salt and too few portions of fruit and vegetables, and exercise too little, the doctors say, then you are at increased risk of developing hypertension. One might ask, are there any signs ort symptoms to recognise hypertension? The doctors say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Usually donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have any symptoms with hypertension until damage has already been done.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s why itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s sometimes known as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”silent killerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. This is quite alarming; there are no symptoms or early signs.

What problems does high blood pressure cause?

High blood pressure is known as the chief culprit in strokes, and a major cause of heart attacks, heart failure and kidney disease. Clearly, these are major medical problems and, as we’ve said, you usually don’t have any symptoms with hypertension until damage has already been done.

What can you do about high blood pressure?

First of all, if you’re concerned, nip to the GP for a quick test. Professor Mac Gregor of the BPA believes, men who have a family history of high blood pressure, strokes or heart attacks should routinely have their blood pressure checked from the age of 20.

And if the usual culprits cause high blood pressure, it’s the usual culprits you have to tackle. According Professor, to avoid high blood pressure, one needs to start an exercise regime (gently, if you haven’t exercised in a while), eat more healthily and cut down on the booze – nobody says you have to stop altogether.

Salt is a major factor in high blood pressure so put less in your cooking. But the real culprits are ready meals, eating out and takeaways, and processed food.

Fast food, no time to cook

Even in Sri Lanka, takeaway or fast food becoming quite popular due to many reasons. One or two reasons could be the fact that, not knowing how to cook, busy life style hence no time to cook. These takeaway places add too many varieties of sources, too much salt and even other salts such as mono-sodium glutamate. I am sure you would notice some of these foods are too oily and we know for fact that fats and oils are unhealthy to eat. If I am not mistaken, once in a while; a takeaway in moderate amount would not do much harm but not on regular basis also in large portions.

In UK, everything from pub pies to breakfast cereals have been found to contain high levels of salt, so it’s wise to get into the habit of checking salt levels in foods before you buy them. Unlike in UK, most of the people in Sri Lanka havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t got the habit of eating with families at pubs or in public houses. They also find their breakfast cereals in packets than making something simple at home. In that case some might blame the present system of supermarkets.

WhatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s to be done?

Present day generations are quite busy with too many tasks. You may be a politician, a bank manager, a teacher, a long distance lorry or bus driver or engaged in many other jobs, in your view an important person so there is no time for yourself to visit a doctor causally. In ProfessorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s point of view, you could be storing up damage for the future, and developing a lifestyle that is likely to drive your blood pressure even higher a few years down the line. Finally, the evidence is patchy but some doctors think that anger has a part to play in high blood pressure, particularly anger that has no escape. If you regularly boil inside but keep a calm exterior, you could be increasing your risk of developing high blood pressure. In some UK hospitals, now they have adopted a calming down therapy, a consultation, I think itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a kind of meditation as mentioned in Buddhism

perera6@hotmail.co.uk