Why lowering BP threshold to less than 120/80 mm Hg may be good for Indians

With cases of hypertension or high blood pressure rising significantly in India particularly among young adults lowering the BP threshold to less than 12080 mm Hg by the American Heart Association AHA may help raise awareness and push for earlier interventions in the country said health experts on MondayHypertension is one of the most important modifiable factors in preventing heart disease stroke and deathFor the first time since 2017 the AHA recently updated its guidelines for people with high blood pressure The guidelines revamped BP readings from a 13090 mm Hg threshold for diagnosis earlier the AHA now defines normal blood pressure as less than 12080 mm HgldquoThe updated BP guidelines by the AHA are highly relevant for the Indian population due to Indias rapidly growing rates of hypertensionrdquo Dr Mukesh Goel senior consultant Cardiothoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Heart and Lung Transplant Surgery from a leading citybased hospital saidldquoFor India these changes are significant With nearly 200 million individuals estimated to have hypertension lowering the BP threshold for diagnosis means a much larger segment of the population is now classified as hypertensive raising awareness and pushing for earlier interventionsrdquo he addedGoel noted that the guideline changes can help ldquocombat the lsquosilent killerrsquo effect as many Indians donrsquot know they have high BP until complications ariserdquoDr Rajeev Jayadevan chairman Scientific Committee IMA Cochin said at it is ldquomainly because hypertension produces no symptoms in early stagesrdquo And among those who are receiving treatment not all of them achieve adequate controlWhile ldquothe new guidelines advocate for more stringent control of blood pressure based on recent large trials that point in that direction there are also other trials indicating that such an aggressive treatment of hypertension did not improve outcomes and in fact may lead to sideeffects such as low blood pressure fainting and kidney injuryrdquo the expert saidThus he called for customising the treatment of hypertension based on individualsNotably the guidelines endorse potassiumbased salt substitutes for home food preparation except for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease or those on drugs that reduce potassium excretionThis is particularly relevant to Indian diets where homecooked salty foods are commonly consumed Dr Vivekanand Jha Executive Director The George Institute for Global Health India told IANSFurther the promotion of teambased management with involvement of community health workers ASHA and nurses fits Indiarsquos health system well especially in rural or primary care settings he addedAs cardiovascular risk factors are additive it is also important to ldquoavoid tobacco reduce alcohol improve exercise levels maintain a healthy body weight and follow a balanced diet avoiding excessive salt intake Jayadevan saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever