“Measure your blood pressure accurately. Control it. Live longer!” – is the call on World Hypertension Day, marked today, May 17. Over the years, in the Republic of Moldova, the level of morbidity from hypertension remains high, with a tendency of a continuous increase, with more than 30 thousand new cases registered annually, IPN reports.
The National Agency for Public Health specifies that hypertension is a medical condition characterized by a persistent elevation of blood pressure values above normal limits (140/90 mm Hg or higher). It is a major cause of a number of health problems such as stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, etc.
For the third consecutive year, the theme focuses on raising awareness of the importance of early control of hypertension, accurate methods of measuring blood pressure (HBP) and promoting a healthy lifestyle to reduce risks.
It affects one in three adults worldwide and is responsible for more than 10.8 million deaths each year. Globally, the number of adults aged between 30 and 79 years with HBP has risen from 650 million to 1.3 billion over the past 30 years, with two-thirds of cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
According to a 2021 study, 34.8% of people aged 18-69 in the Republic of Moldova had high blood pressure determined. Systolic blood pressure values above 140 mmHg are the most common, the proportion of men was 53.2% and women 34.4% and only 13.4% of them keep their hypertension under control.
The risk factors are age and heredity, but hypertension is also determined by behavior and lifestyle, including: unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, etc.
According to experts, hypertension often goes without symptoms and is also called the “silent killer”. Symptoms usually appear when it reaches very high values, when it happens to rise suddenly and markedly enough, becoming a medical emergency. These include headaches, blurred vision or other visual changes, nausea, dizziness, nosebleeds, palpitations.
To prevent high blood pressure and reduce its consequences, it is necessary to promote a healthy lifestyle, which involves maintaining a normal body weight, reducing salt intake, healthy nutrition, limiting alcohol consumption, quitting tobacco use, increasing physical activity, etc.
