KARACHI: Undersco­ring the need for getting physically active in life, and reducing intake of salt and junk food, experts at a presser held on Thursday shared that the prevalence of hypertension stands at a staggering 44 per cent in Pakistan and the majority of those patients remained undiagnosed, putting them at high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other serious health complications.

The briefing was held in connection with the World Hypertension Day being observed today (May 17) with the theme “Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer”.

It was organised by the Pakistan Hypertension League (PHL) in collaboration with the cardiology department of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK).

Describing high blood pressure as a silent killer, PHL president Prof Muhammad Nawaz Lashari said the situation in Pakistan was alarming given the fact that people were unaware of their health status and had little knowledge about the risk factors of hypertension that put them at an increased risk of serious health complications.

Citing a WHO report, he said the prevalence of hypertension in the country stood at 44 per cent, significantly surpassing the global average of 33 per cent.

“This translates to a concerning reality: a massive 56 per cent of hypertensive patients in Pakistan remain undiagnosed. This means 18.59m people are unaware that they have high blood pressure,” he said, adding that hypertension was asymptomatic in most cases.

The experts emphasised that the condition must not be linked with age as growing number of young patients, including unmarried girls in their 20s, were reporting with the complaints of high blood pressure.

Prof Feroz Memon cited to a local study conducted some six years back, which put the prevalence of high blood pressure in Pakistan at 46 per cent.

“It’s a major risk factor for heart attacks, heart failure and arrhythmias. It can damage kidneys, leading to kidney failure, harm blood vessels in the brain, increasing the risk for stroke, and affect eye nerves, leading to vision loss,” he warned, adding that high blood pressure could also cause sexual dysfunction.

Referring to a major city hospital for urology, he said 90 per cent patients were on dialysis at the health facility due to high blood pressure.

Prof Abdul Rasheed Khan emphasised that people must get their blood pressure checked whenever they visited a doctor and that health physicians, too, made it a point that all their patients would be assessed for that vital check-up.

“Besides, we must realise that healthy lifestyle choices play a vital role in managing hypertension. People should maintain a healthy weight, eat a balanced low-salt diet, exercise regularly and try avoid stress,” he observed.

Talking about women’s vulnerability to high blood pressure, HPL vice president Dr Kanwal Amir said its prevalence was higher in older women and that use of oral contraceptives increased the risk of hypertension.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024