Almost half of the UAE’s population has the silent killer, hypertension – and worryingly, most don’t even know they have it.
Have you been checked for hypertension? As 45 per cent of the UAE’s population battles the silent killer that is hypertension, Mrinal Shekar finds out prevention really is better than cure
After an extremely busy day, Dubai resident Pradeep Krishnan was driving back home late one night three years ago, wondering why the slight headache he’d had the whole day had still not gone. It could be because he’d skipped lunch, he thought to himself. With innumerable reports to be submitted, meetings to be attended and calls to be answered, Pradeep had barely time for a couple of lattes and muffins to take him through the day. Suddenly, the headache turned into a throb and by the time he got home, he could feel small beads of sweat developing on his forehead. Pradeep immediately called out to his wife. He does not remember very clearly what happened next as he kept experiencing spells of dizziness. ‘What I will not forget is the chat I had with a doctor the following day,’ he says.
‘Quite often hypertension goes under the radar as it is not usually associated with any specific symptoms. Many people have it but are totally oblivious to it,’ says Dr Adam Mather, consultant interventional cardiologist at Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai’s Healthcare City. In Pradeep’s case, it was a problem he was hoping would go away without him having to deal with it.
Pradeep was 42 years old, weighed 135kg and had already been diagnosed with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. ‘I just don’t have the time,’ was Pradeep’s regular excuse for not exercising or eating right. ‘The doctor told me that my poor eating habits and stressful life had got the better of me and my blood pressure had sky-rocketed. He also made it clear that if I wanted to live long enough to see my kids graduate and get married, then I had to accept the gravity of the problem and make some vital lifestyle changes,’ he says. That warning was a reality check for Pradeep. ‘Also, he told me that unlike most people, I was fortunate that I already knew I had hypertension.’
The fact that the condition goes largely undetected is the reason for hypertension’s moniker: the silent killer.
So what is hypertension? Dr Mather explains, ‘Blood pressure is indicated by two numbers, for example 124/76 mmHg. The first number is known as systolic pressure – the blood pressure when the heart beats. The second number, diastolic pressure, is the pressure when the heart rests between beats.’ The American Heart Foundation defines hypertension as having a systolic reading above 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic reading above 90 mmHg.
Research published in last November’s issue of Lancet said, ‘1.13 billion people across the world suffer from high blood pressure’. Even more shocking are the statistics released by World Health Organisation that show blood pressure issues are estimated to cause 7.5 million deaths globally; almost 13 per cent of all deaths.
In the UAE, too, the condition has seen a rapid rise. Referring to 2015 statistics, a recent UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention press release said that 30 per cent of total deaths caused by non-communicable disease are due to cardiovascular disease, making it the number one cause of death in the country. Five per cent of all deaths are due to high blood pressure or hypertension. (The four main types of non-communicable diseases are cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke, and chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.) ‘In the UAE, it is estimated that 40 to 45 per cent of adults between the ages of 35 and 70 have hypertension,’ says Dr Mather.
These mind-boggling numbers prove that hypertension is of extreme concern, particularly in the UAE ‘because the rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are rising faster in this region than other parts of the world,’ says the doctor. ‘Also, we have noticed that the average age of patients presenting with cardiovascular disease in the UAE is much lower than in Europe and North America.’
The doctor believes the reason for the steep rise in hypertension in the region ‘is mainly because of poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.’ But what makes it a vicious circle, according to Dr Mather, is the fact that the rate of obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol has also seen a sharp increase. All of these factors come together to make a lethal cocktail that increases the risk for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and,
A few reasons HYPERTENSION has seen a STEEP RISE in the region is mainly because of poor LIFESTYLE choices such as SMOKING, following an UNHEALTHY DIET and lack of EXERCISE
eventually, premature death. ‘If left untreated, the progressive rise in blood pressure will damage the blood vessels and the kidneys and may culminate in a treatment-resistant state,’ says the doctor.
Pradeep was treading that deadly path, but the doctor’s warning worked and Pradeep decided to make drastic lifestyle changes. Over the past two years, Dr Mather reveals, Pradeep lost 50kg by eating healthily and exercising regularly. ‘Earlier, he used to take five tablets for hypertension; now he is down to one. He has also been able to control his blood-sugar level through diet alone.’
Pradeep’s testimonial proves that lifestyle changes and regular screening
are key to keeping hypertension at bay. ‘We need to promote regular exercise. The European Society of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend that we should do moderate intensity exercise at least five days a week for at least 30 minutes each day,’ says Dr Mather.
He also advises reducing salt intake to 5g to 6g a day, following a low-fat diet and keeping a check on sugar intake. ‘But most importantly, we need to get our blood pressure checked at least once a year if we are over the age of 35 and if a person has other risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, or smokes. In such instances, he or she needs to go for check-ups more often. In short, you will not know your blood pressure condition unless you get it checked,’ he adds.
Regular check-ups and health awareness programmes are in fact going to be an integral part of UAE government’s strategy to combat this grave condition. Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, assistant undersecretary of the Health Centers and Clinics Sector at the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, recently said, ‘Our goal is to work out ways to prevent the onset of hypertension as well as guide members of the community in diagnosing the disease and the associated risk factors through early screening.’
For effective prevention, it is vital that all those who see their blood pressure numbers inching upwards heed their doctor’s advice and bring about real changes to the way they live, just so that they don’t have to depend on medication for the rest of their lives to manage their health. How do you define hypertension? Blood pressure (BP) is determined by the amount of blood pumped by the heart and the resistance to blood flow in our arteries. The more blood our heart pumps and the narrower our arteries, the higher your blood pressure. Many significant contributions of Ayurveda physicians from ancient times remain unrecognised in the history of medicine. For example, Ayurveda physicians Susrutha (700 BC) and Charaka (AD 100) had a preliminary understanding of the cardiovascular system and the heart acting as a pump. Pulse diagnosis has always been an important aspect of Ayurveda diagnosis. Ayurveda used terms like the ‘snake movement of pulse’, ‘frog leaping of pulse’ and ‘swan movement of pulse’ to differentiate changes in blood pressure and pulse in those times. With the invention of sphygmomanometers, it has become easier to measure blood pressure.
The only area Ayurveda might theoretically differ from the modern viewpoint is the standardisation of BP for every human, irrespective of their physiological uniqueness. According to Ayurveda, every human being is unique and so is their pulse and BP. A Vata body type might have varying BP according to the solar cycle while a Pitta body type might show sharp rise in BP according to emotional changes. A BP termed as pre-hypertension (systolic between 120 and 139 and/or diastolic between 80 and 89) may be a normal BP for a vata person by genetic inheritance. What are the symptoms of hypertension? Hypertension may not show any symptoms until it reaches a serious or life-threatening stage. Headaches, shortness of breath or nosebleeds are seen as symptoms in some patients. What causes hypertension? As per Ayurveda, Vata is the physiological vital force that governs the pumping of the heart and controls the elasticity of blood vessels. With ageing, we face a natural increase in vata, which results in a higher BP. Modern medicine tags this as primary hypertension. What presentations of hypertension
Hypertension may not show any SYMPTOMS until it reaches a serious or life-threatening stage. HEADACHES, shortness of breath or nosebleeds are seen as symptoms in some hypertension PATIENTS
are seen in practice? 1. High systolic and normal diastolic – vatapitta imbalance 2. Normal systolic and high diastolic – vatakapha imbalance 3. High systolic and high diastolic – imbalance of vata, pitta and kapha
The causes for vata imbalance are excessive and long-term intake of spicy, bitter and astringent foods; overeating and unhealthy eating; suppression or premature initiation of natural urges like bowel movements, urination, sleep, tears, hiccups, burps, thirst, hunger, cough; overexertion and overthinking can also cause high blood pressure.