Blood Pressure
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15. Urban Environment – High BP, among both sexes, is more prevalent in urban areas but rural areas are also catching fast. In a recent survey, it was found that in Chandigarh (India) the incidence of hypertension has more than doubled in the last 3 decades. More than 50% of men over 30 years of age were found to be suffering from hypertension.
High Blood Pressure – Some Facts and Figures
16. On World Hypertension Day (17th May 2007), it was revealed that almost 1 billion people worldwide suffer from hypertension and additional more than ½ billion will harbour this “silent killer” by 2025. Yet hypertension does not command, the attention of, say “bird flu” which has killed only a few people.
17. Hypertension affects about 30% adults in Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela; 38% in England, Sweden and Italy; 45% in Spain and 55% in Germany. In India about 20% of adults suffer from high BP in urban areas and about 10% in rural areas. But the biggest jump in the future is expected in developing countries, like India, which are fast moving to Western lifestyle and economies. Recent Studies have shown that in the last 3 to 6 decades the number of the people with hypertension has increased by about 30 times in cities and by about 10 times in the villages. Unless appropriate educational and nutritional programmes are promoted worldwide, the menace of high BP is expected to grow faster and faster!
What is Blood Pressure?
18. Your BP is determined by two key factors: how hard your heart beats and how easily the blood flows through your arteries. The blood which circulates through the arteries within the body supplies every cell with nourishment and oxygen. The force exerted by the heart as it pumps the blood into the large arteries creates a pressure within them and this is called “blood pressure”. A certain level of blood pressure is thus essential to keep the blood circulating in the body. But when the pressure becomes too high, it results in “hypertension” which is caused by spasm (constriction) or narrowing of the small blood vessels – capillaries – throughout the body. This narrowing puts more stress on the heart to pump blood through the blood vessels. Hence, the pressure of the blood to get through rises in proportion to the pressure on the heart.
