Treatment for hypertension takes a back seat

With a large number of hypertension patients remaining unaware of the disease, the prevalence is not reported as the actual figures. “A large population of youngsters land up in hospitals with heart attack, renal issues, stroke and other forms of organ damage due to long-term hypertension as they lack specialised treatment for hypertension,” said Dr Sivarajan Thandeeshwaram, senior consultant, stroke and neurovascular medicine, Kauvery Hospital.

As per the National Family Health Survey-4 in 2015-16 by Public Health Foundation of India, more than 55 per cent of the young population aged between 15-49 years with high blood pressure are unaware that they suffer from hypertension. The nation-wide survey stated that Tamil Nadu along with Puducherry, Sikkim and Haryana had the highest percentage of hypertension patients who were unaware of their hypertension status and had no control of the risk factors. The trend was commonly witnessed in rural India, with the male being more prone to the disease.

“The control and treatment of hypertension are less complicated when compared to other NCDs. More than 90 per cent of hypertension cases can be treated with oral tablets.

The treatment of hypertension requires multi-speciality approach and a particular branch of study cannot fulfil the essentials of treatment for hypertension, according to experts. Cardiologists, neuro-physicians, nephrologists, psychologists and dietitians need to treat hypertension patients based on the medical condition of the individual patient, added Sivarajan.

Doctors also said that lifestyle modifications such as smoking, obesity and lack of physical activity are essential to reduce risk factors.