Individuals as young as 16-18 years of age are now being diagnosed with hypertension or elevated blood pressure in Pakistan due to sedentary lifestyles, and this trend is primarily attributed to the consumption of junk and ultra-processed foods, along with a lack of physical activity, experts warned on Saturday.
“These days we are witnessing a significant increase in hypertension cases among young adults in Pakistan, largely stemming from sedentary lifestyles characterised by physical inactivity, poor dietary habits, excessive salt and sugar intake, and smoking,” said Dr Junaid Patel, a professor of medicine at the Indus Hospital Karachi.
“It’s alarming to observe individuals as young as 16-18 years old experiencing dangerously high blood pressure levels, leading to strokes and heart attacks,” he pointed out.
According to a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of people living with hypertension (blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher, or taking medication for hypertension) doubled between 1990 and 2019, from 650 million to 1.3 billion. Nearly half of the people with hypertension globally are currently unaware of their condition.
In Pakistan hypertension prevalence is 44 per cent, compared to 33 per cent globally, stated WHO, adding that around 56 per cent of hypertensive patients in Pakistan remain undiagnosed. Among the diagnosed patients, 65 per cent are not receiving any treatment at all.
Dr Patel called for a massive drive in the country for ‘Discovering Hypertension’ in Pakistan, urging the public and private sectors to join hands in identifying and effectively treating people afflicted with hypertension.
“We need to place digital blood pressure monitors at mosques, medical stores, shopping centres, hair salons and restaurants to check people for hypertension,” he stressed.
“A reading ranging from 120 to 129 (systolic) and below 80 (diastolic) shows elevated blood pressure, while a reading ranging from 130 to 139 (systolic) or 80 to 89 (diastolic) indicates stage 1 hypertension. As for stage 2 hypertension, a reading of 140 or higher (systolic) or 90 (diastolic).”
Health experts claimed that they have observed extremely elevated blood pressures among hypertensive individuals during Ramazan due to poor eating habits, lack of exercise and avoidance of medication. They urged people to improve their lifestyles to avoid strokes, heart attacks and other serious health issues.
“Salt and oil intake increase during Ramazan as we regularly consume fried, salty items during Iftar,” said Dr Patel. “We regularly dine out, eat unhealthy food, while most people don’t exercise at all during the holy month, while many hypertensive people don’t even take their medicines regularly.”
He said that uncontrolled hypertension is symptomless and a silent killer, often resulting in hypertensive heart failure, strokes or heart attacks due to high blood pressure, while hypertension can often lead to kidney failure, blindness and amputation of the lower limbs.
Quoting latest data, Pakistan Hypertension League Patron Prof Muhammad Ishaq said that there are around 33.2 million people with hypertension in Pakistan, of which around 18.59 million are undiagnosed. “Only 5.11 million are currently receiving treatment for hypertension, and of them, just 1.61 million have their hypertension under control.”
Prof Ishaq blamed lack of awareness among the masses as the major cause of the high prevalence of hypertension in Pakistan, and vowed to launch a massive drive in May to screen people for hypertension and advise them to improve their lifestyles to control their blood pressure.
“We are going to involve nurses, healthcare workers and common people in our ‘Discovering Hypertension’ drive,” he said, and urged people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, reduce salt intake, exercise daily and avoid smoking to live a healthy life.
Renowned cardiologist Dr Akram Sultan said salt intake is very high, especially in the Pakhtun population, in Pakistan, and it is a major contributor to arterial hypertension, while obesity is prevalent due to a lack of exercise and consumption of junk food.
Agreeing that the younger population is becoming hypertensive, Dr Sultan said that a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and physical inactivity are the major causes of high blood pressure. He called for awareness at school level as well as mass awareness and screening campaigns in the country to diagnose people with hypertension.
“We need mass awareness and frequent screening campaigns in Pakistan to diagnose people with hypertension. Every person going to a doctor, even for diarrhoea or a mental health issue, should be screened for hypertension. Nowadays we should screen even youngsters for hypertension due to our poor lifestyles.”
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