One in every five adults suffer from hypertension

Staff Reporter :
One in every five adults in Bangladesh suffers from hypertension. The percentage is five.
Half of the women (51pc) and two thirds of men (67pc) with hypertension do not know that they have high blood pressure.
Mass awareness, affordability of medications and treatment services in this regard need to be ensured. Hypertension causes increased risks of cardiovascular diseases and related mortality in manifolds.
Public health experts shared such information at two consecutive two-day long workshops for journalists titled “Hypertension and Heart Health” held in the Bangladesh Institute of Planners during 28-31 March 2022.
The workshops were organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with the support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
Fifty-one journalists from print, television, and online media houses participated in the workshops.
Experts said when blood pressure reaches higher levels above normality then it is called high blood pressure or hypertension.
Hypertension is if when the pressure is measured on two different days and if the readings on both days are 140/90 mmHg.
However, blood pressure could be more or even less depending on various age groups. In many cases, there are no specific warning signs or symptoms of hypertension.
However, in some cases of hypertension, symptoms like morning headaches, nosebleeds, irregular heart rhythms, vision changes, and buzzing in the ears may occur.
Untreated hypertension can give way to chest pain or angina, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, as well as stroke. In addition, hypertension can damage kidney also.
Referring to ‘Bangladesh NCD Steps Survey, 2018’, it was told at the workshop that less than one in every seven people has been able to keep their condition under control by taking medications. According to the data of Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019, hypertension is one of the three major reasons for death and disability in Bangladesh. Only 29pc of health service centers have trained workers.
Following global targets for preventing non-communicable diseases, the government has set a national target of 25pc relative reduction of raised blood pressure prevalence by 2025.
The experts said that the government must increase budget allocations to ensure hypertension treatment and availability of medications in all the hospitals and primary health care facilities.
Alarmingly, more than 10 million people die each year from hypertension which is more than all communicable diseases combined.
As discussants, Syed Mojibul Huq, Additional Secretary, Health Service Division; Professor Dr. Mohammad Robed Amin, Line Director of NCDC Program, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS); Professor Dr. Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of Department of Epidemiology and Research, National Heart Foundation; Dr. Syed Mahfuzul Huq, National Professional Officer (NCD), World Health Organization Bangladesh; Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health and Informatics at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU); Professor Dr. Malay Kanti Mridha, Director of Center for Non-Communicable Disease and Nutrition, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health; Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead, GHAI; Zahirul Alam, Head of News and Current Affairs, NTV and ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA were present.