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Why Higher Blood Pressure Screening Is Necessary?
 

Hypertension, or more commonly known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a serious condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and other medical disorders.

It is estimated that about one-third of American adults and around 900 million people in the developing countries have HBP. The disease itself usually has no symptoms. People with hypertension can have it without realizing it. In developing countries, only about one-third of people who are hypertensive are aware of their condition.

A normal blood pressure should not exceed 120/80 mmHg. The figure 120 is the systolic, which refers to blood pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood. The figure 80 is the diastolic reading, which is the blood pressure when the heart is at rest between the beats.

When the systolic reading of a person with no short-term serious diseases is between 120 and 139 or diastolic reading between 80 and 89, he or she is said to have prehypertension. This means this person is likely to end up with HBP, unless steps are taken to prevent it. A person with the systolic reading between 140 and 159 or diastolic reading between 90 and 99 is said to be in stage 1 HBP. Once a person’s systolic reading reaches 160 and beyond or diastolic reaches 100 or higher, this person is in stage 2 HBP.

Blood pressure (BP) can vary all the time. When a person sleeps, the blood pressure is lower and when this person wakes up, it rises. When a person is excited, nervous or active, the blood pressure can rise too. But if the blood pressure of a person stay above the normal range most of the time, this person is definitely hypertensive. As such, it is important that people keep track of their blood pressure, even if they are feeling fine.

Researchers from Harvard School of Medicine reported in April 2012 at the World Congress of Cardiology that a 25 percent increase in HBP screening in 19 developing countries would lower the number of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and deaths by up to 3 percent each year. According to them, only 100 million of people with HBP in developing countries receive treatment, while only 5 percent of the total cases are controlled.

The study used a non-lab screening tool to treat those with a systolic blood pressure of greater than 140 mmHg and CVD risk of greater than 20 percent. It found that screening of an additional 25 percent of the population would increase more than 10 percent in number of people receive appropriate treatment. This would subsequently reduce CVD events and deaths by 1 to 3 percent. The associated costs are considered to be acceptable according to World Health Organization’s recommendation.

CVD include a range of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessel. The first warming of CVD could be a heart attack or stroke. Being the number one killer in the world, it takes away the life of 17.3 million of people every year. It is estimated that CVD will remain the single leading cause of death and will be responsible for 23.6 million deaths each year by 2030.

Being one of the major preventable risk factors for premature death from CVD worldwide, HBP contributes to about 50 percent of all CVD. For every 10-point increase in diastolic blood pressure, the risk of developing CVD doubles.

Research had shown that treatment of HBP might reduce the risk of getting stroke by 35 percent and lower the risk of having myocardial infarction (heart attack) by at least 16 percent.

While BP usually rises with age, the hike in BP might be prevented for some people by following a healthy lifestyle. People who have already diagnosed with HBP, it is important that they should seek medical help and following strictly the recommended treatment. In addition, they should also adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating healthily and have regular physical activities as far as possible.

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