About 8.1 percent of the adult population in Malaysia, or 1.7 million people, have all three risk factors for hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, the main non-communicable diseases. From this point, approximately 1 in 10 people in Malaysia have hypertension. These three diseases are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases are leading causes of death in Malaysia such as stroke and coronary heart diseases.
What is hypertension?
Hypertension is high blood pressure, a very common condition in the elderly. It occurs when your blood pressure is consistently elevated and forces the blood against your artery walls as it circulates through your body. Untreated high blood pressure can lead to serious complication or life threatening.
High blood pressure is a silent killer and most of the time there are no noticeable symptoms. Here are six things you should know about high blood pressure.
1. Learn how to cope with stress.
Although stress and hypertension have frequently been linked, researchers are still investigating a direct relationship between this two. When you are stressed, body releases stress hormones into bloodstream, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones create a temporary spike in blood pressure, causing your heart to beat faster and blood vessels to constrict. When the stressful situation is over, blood pressure returns to normal.
The best advice is to try to relax when you are stress. There are several other methods you can use to relax or reduce stress, for instance, deep breathing exercises, meditation, relaxation to music, exercise, and doing whatever you enjoy.
2. Good sleep can prevent high blood pressure.
Most people experience a dip in blood pressure during the deepest stage of sleep also known as slow wave sleep, which is a normal reaction to sleep. Not getting that nighttime dip puts you at risk for heart disease and may raise your blood pressure during the day.
However, our bodies usually spend about 90 minutes to two hours per night to get slow wave sleep in sleeping. According to a recent study published in hypertension, men who got less slow wave sleep each night were more likely to develop hypertension than men who got more deep sleep.
3. White-Coat Hypertension.
White coat hypertension (WHT), also known as white coat syndrome, is a type of hypertension that occurs in white coats. It can cause blood pressure to rise above normal levels. This syndrome may be a symptom of a more serious blood pressure condition in some people.
Moreover, people with white-coat hypertension, according to one study, have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those with normal blood pressure levels.
These patients must track their blood pressure at home by wearing an ambulatory blood pressure monitor that measures blood pressure every 30 minutes for 24 hours. If you have white coat hypertension, consult with doctor about detailed home monitoring of your condition.
4. Reduce sodium in your diet.
Food high in salt is one of the worst things to eat if you have hypertension. Thus, high sodium levels in our bodies promote water retention leading to a condition of high flow in arterial vessels. So, the heart tries harder to pump blood throughout the body, which further increases blood pressure. For people with hypertension, the doctor will recommend consuming no more than 2300 mg of sodium per day, or just over 1 teaspoon of salt.
5. Be physically active.
Regular physical activity is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced cardiovascular risk. Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity three times per week.
Thus, physical activity refers to any bodily movement which uses energy and is performed as part of daily activities, such as household chores, walking, certain work and leisure-time activities, sports, or planned exercise.
6. Take prescribed drugs as directed.
A doctor may prescribe medications to help you reach your blood pressure goal. Besides, there are many different types of blood pressure medications. You may need to try different types of drugs to see which one works best for you.
As mentioned above, we know having hypertension can lead to other health problems such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and other complications. So, the doctor will prescribe multiple medications to treat the disease together. The patient is likely to get confused if they need to take all the medications on the same day. They usually ask for help from family members to remind them.
Don’t worry, Pillplan offers services that sort your medications by dose and time of administration and deliver them to you once a month. Find out more about them here.
References
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20046974
- https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/hbp_low.pdf
- https://www.rush.edu/news/6-high-blood-pressure-facts
- http://iptk.moh.gov.my/images/technical_report/2020/4_Infographic_Booklet_NHMS_2019_-_English.pdf
