High blood pressure left untreated is adding to India’s rising stroke burden: AIIMS doctors

New Delhi: With stroke burden increasing exponentially in the country, doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bathinda, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur and Rishikesh say it is time now to focus on hypertension treatment - a prevention strategy that is achievable and can save millions of lives.

Dr Pradeep Aggarwal, Professor, Community Medicine, AIIMS Rishikesh says, “It is time we recognise that hypertension, an easily treatable condition, has far reaching repercussions. Raised blood pressure can result in stroke which not only causes premature death and life-long disability, it can throw families into irrecoverable financial shocks and loss of income. Increasingly in India, the stroke survivors are a relatively younger population. We must bear in mind that this means loss of income and a work life curtailed.”

In India, incidence of stroke ranges from 116 to 163 people per 100,000 population. Studies have revealed that the increasing prevalence of hypertension in India is likely to push up the stroke burden of the country.

Dr Surender Deora, Senior Cardiologist, AIIMS Jodhpur warns that severe hypertension has been correlated with a poorer prognosis and even higher mortality in stroke patients. “In majority of cases we see that ischaemic stroke is linked to poor control of high blood pressure. What we describe as the stroke burden is not just due to its high mortality rate. Stroke is a massive public health and well-being concern because up to 50 per cent survivors remain disabled for the rest of their lives. This has a devastating socioeconomic impact.”

According to a study on stroke epidemiology in India, the incidence of stroke in South Asian countries has increased by more than 100 per cent in the past four decades. By 2050, it is estimated that 80 per cent of the burden of new strokes will be in low and middle income countries.

As a result of the epidemiological transition sweeping through India, stroke prevalence is all set to rise in the coming years. Dr Rakesh Kakkar, Professor and Head of Department, Dept. of Community and Family Medicine, AIIMS Bathinda, said, “Paying attention to the stroke-hypertension connection now, will pay dividends in the future. There is no dearth of evidence from clinical practice and from the grassroots that untreated and uncontrolled blood pressure is the most common cause for stroke. We must do what we can to reign in the damage caused by high blood pressure, treatment for which is affordable and easily available. Making treatment available and ensuring people adhere to it, can go a long way in strengthening our defence against stroke.”

AIIMS Bathinda, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur and Rishikesh have come together to provide thought leadership on keeping hypertension treatment prioritised as an issue of national importance, supported by Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).