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Covid-19 has brought focus on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and many deaths were due to bad management of chronic illness, especially high blood pressure, according to doctors.
People suffering from lifestyle diseases should undertake periodic health check-ups and ensure that they follow healthy protocol.
"Pandemic is also a time people neglect their existing medical issues and focus totally on the virus. This is due to the over attention towards one, neglecting the other," says Dr Mahmoud al Rahbi, Senior Consultant at the Emergency Medicine Section, Al Nahda Hospital.
The pressure exerted by the blood on the arterial wall during its circulation is the blood pressure. The pressure exerted during the heart muscle contraction is the systolic blood pressure and the same during heart muscle relaxation is the diastolic blood pressure. Normal pressure is <120/80 mm of Hg. If the pressure is more than 130/80 i.e.>130 mm of Hg during systole ( heart muscle contraction) and >80 mm of Hg during diastole ( heart muscle relaxation), it is called systemic hypertension.
High blood pressure is an important risk factor for stroke, heart attack , abnormal heartbeat, heart failure, kidney failure and visual impairment. The commonest cause is primary hypertension which usually affects adults between the age of 35 and 55 years of age.
"High blood pressure is predominantly due to peripheral arteriolar constriction secondary to hormonal effects. The other causes are stiffness of arteries in elderly population," says Dr Anoop Soman, a cardiologist. "In some other patients it is due to sedentary lifestyle, excess salt intake, being overweight, smoking, drinking and the like."
Once the doctor rules out the secondary causes of hypertension and even after lifestyle modifications, BP is consistently more than 130/80 mm of Hg one can consider starting medicines.
Ingredients of a HEALTHY LIFE
1) Stop Smoking
2) Avoid alcohol
3) Maintain healthy body weight – BMI <25
4) Minimise salt and sugar in food
5) Regular exercise of at least 5 days a week amounting to not less than 150 minutes/ week
6) Include fruits, vegetables, nuts, low fat dairy products and lean meat
7) Reduce stress
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