Nearly 54% of women and 46% of men have hypertension: Survey

Gurugram: As per international data, India has one of the lowest treatment rates for hypertension. A recent survey by Meddo Health reveals that nearly 54 per cent of women and 24 per cent of men in India suffer from chronic hypertension disorder out of 844 respondents.

Commenting on the findings, Saurabh Kochhar, Founder and CEO, Meddo Health, said “With the growing number of hypertension cases, India is slated to become one of the largest countries in the world with cardiovascular diseases including heart attack, stroke, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Any factor that leads to high stress or blood pressure needs to be controlled immediately to build a healthy nation.”

According to the survey, hypertension cases in women are higher than in men. Factors such as salt and fat intake, obesity, hormonal imbalance, prolonged use of oral contraceptive pills, pregnancy, and even menopause contribute to this disorder. Also, the elevated stress levels at work and maintaining a work-life balance that has changed the position of woman from a bread maker to a bread earner is also linked to high blood pressure, leading to hypertension.

The survey reveals that the cases of hypertension have increased significantly due to higher levels of stress recorded during the pandemic outbreak. Stay-at-home norms, living in isolation, laying off at jobs, and economic slowdown have contributed immensely to high blood pressure cases. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle and shutdown of fitness and yoga centres have resulted in poor health management, increasing the number of high cholesterol, cardiovascular, and kidney diseases.

One of the serious concerns regarding hypertension cases in India is poor or low diagnosis. A larger proportion of patients are unaware of having developed hypertension or link stress with hypertension. Self-awareness and proactively working on cardiovascular health can significantly make India a healthier nation, the statement said.

A value less than 120/80mmHg indicates normal blood pressure, while a value higher than 140/90mmHg indicates hypertension. Therefore, knowing how to control blood pressure is crucial, as it can put patient at risk of developing heart attack.