World Hypertension Day - “Healthy Diet, Healthy Blood Pressure”
Today, May 17th, is World Hypertension Day, simply a day chalk-marked to remind ourselves about the dangers of this common, but often silent (and hence ignored) disease. The international theme of the day is “Healthy Diet, Healthy Blood Pressure.”
Did you know that High Blood-Pressure or hypertension affects nearly 72 million, or nearly one in three, adult Americans? A number of news stories are out on the wires today to mark the occasion and each cites a report that is scarier than the previous one.
EarthTimes is talking about Global High Blood Pressure Situation Growing Dire. Signed off by more than 14 leading groups, an expert report warns that:
Instances of uncontrolled hypertension will rise dramatically, triggering a global cardiovascular disease epidemic, unless governments and healthcare policymakers take immediate and wide-ranging corrective action.
The report warns that in developing countries, the number of people with hypertension could rise by 80% to 1.15 billion, meaning that almost three- quarters of people with high blood pressure will be in developing countries by 2025.
Heart-attacks and strokes are just some of the major effects of ignoring hypertension; it can also lead to kidney and eye damage. Lifestyle factors that affect the prevelance of hyperension are the usual suspects that plague an increasingly sedentary world: obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and high sodium intake.
An interesting expose “Stressed, distressed and BP rising” highlights the pitfalls of living a life focussed squarely on becoming the next big success story at the cost of one’s health. Stress, over-work, unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles/lack of exercise and finally the biggest “lack: of all: lack of sleep together combine to raise the blood pressure of many modern white-collar workers. Read the thought-provoking article for tips to help reduce the factors that can contribute to early coronary incidents.
What can you do on the occasion of World Hypertension Day?
- Get your blood pressure checked (many pharmacies do this for free and if not, it’s well worth a trip to your doctor to make sure your systolic and diastolic numbers are in line).
- Resolve to eat well and reduce sodium from your diets.
- Make fitness your way of life by incorporating an exercise regimen into your daily schedule.
- Tell a family-member/friend/neighbor about the importance of having their blood pressure checked regularly. You already know that 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. have hypertension, but did you know an even more surprising fact? Just 1 in 3 of those who have hypertension even know they have it! We can help increase awareness by spreading the message from our own inner circles.
Let us work together to keep hypertension, the silent threat, under control.
Technorati Tags: health , nutrition, fitness, high blood pressure, hypertension, world hypertension day
Related Posts:
- Eating low-fat dairy products can lower blood pressure
- Chocolate can improve blood vessel function
- When bad things happen to good people
If you enjoyed this post, please do leave a comment and subscribe to the feed to get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment