KARACHI: Around 46 per cent of the country’s population does not even know that they have high blood pressure, whereas 20pc of people diagnosed with the illness don’t take any medicine. The illness affects 10pc of women during pregnancy.

These points were shared by experts at a seminar, “Hypertension: A Silently Growing Epidemic,” organised by the Dow Institute of Cardiology (DIC) at Dr Abdul Ghaffar Billoo Lecture Hall.

In her speech, Prof Zeba Haque, Principal Dow International Medical College (DIMC), said though high blood pressure wasn’t an epidemic, it’s turning into one given its growing prevalence.

“We need to create awareness about how people can prevent this illness by changing their dietary habits and lifestyle; furthermore, what steps do we need to take if they have already been diagnosed with this illness,” she said.

Prof Kashif Shafique, Director, Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), said over 1.3 billion people around the world were suffering from high blood pressure, causing death for every fifth person.

He stated, “46 per cent of people in Pakistan don’t even know that they have high blood pressure, while 20 per cent of people diagnosed with the illness don’t have any medicine. Worse still, only one in five patients taking medicine is able to control their high blood pressure.”

According to him, high blood pressure is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, affecting around 1.3bn people worldwide.

“Around 8.5 million people die every year due to this illness all over the world. Over the years, patients with cardiovascular diseases have doubled in Pakistan, and so is the case with the number of people with hypertension,” he said, adding that this pattern had much to do with the fact that there wasn’t any focus on disease prevention in society.

“No effort is being made to prevent hypertension in Pakistan. Most patients in Pakistan go undiagnosed, leading to heart disease. Our focus should be on having a healthy body and mind, for which we first of all need to change our lifestyle by giving preference to low-fat food, using a minimum amount of salt in food, controlling weight, having regular physical activity, minimising cigarette smoking in the first phase, and completely quitting in the second phase,” the expert added.

Sharing statistics, Prof Jahan Ara, medical superintendent at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), said high blood pressure affected 37pc men and 39pc women in Pakistan. “It’s the second major cause of death among women worldwide. 58pc of women between the ages of 65 and 74 suffer from high blood pressure. After menopause, women’s vulnerability to high blood pressure increases. Obesity is also a big risk factor for high blood pressure.”

Dr Tariq Farman, head of DIC, emphasised the need to tackle the illness on a war footing basis.

Prof Iftikhar, head of the Institute of Chest and Lung Diseases, and Prof Javed Siyal, representing the Pakistan Cardiology Society, also spoke.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023