One In Four Adults In India Has High BP

NEW DELHI, (IANS) – With no noticeable symptoms, making it hard to detect until complications arise, blood pressure is a silent killer increasingly affecting Indians, both young and old, said doctors here.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least one in four adults in India has hypertension, but only about 12 percent of them have their blood pressure under control.

In June, the ICMR–India Diabetes study showed that a whopping 315 million people in India suffer from hypertension. The study, based on a survey of 1,13,043 people, found that high blood pressure was highly prevalent in urban areas and across the country.

“We often say BP is a silent killer and the main reason behind it is that people are unaware of the problem that they will face because of BP and in fact, it is not wrong to say that they are not aware that they have high blood pressure,” Dr Sanjeev Gera – Director, Cardiology, Fortis Hospital Noida, said.

Uncontrolled blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke and are responsible for one-third of total deaths in India.

While high intake of salt is often blamed for causing hypertension, the doctors said alcohol, tobacco, and increased consumption of fast and packaged food, which have hidden salt in them, are also exacerbating the burden of hypertension. 

Other factors like genetics, obesity, lack of physical activity, alcohol consumption, and stress also play crucial roles in developing hypertension.

Obesity rates have also risen, contributing to hypertension risk.

Meanwhile, India has set a target of 25 percent relative reduction in the prevalence of high blood pressure by 2025. To achieve this, the government launched the India Hypertension Control Initiative in 2017. About  34 lakh people with hypertension are taking treatment in government health facilities.