A study conducted by the World Health Organisations finds that people in 10 out of 12 districts in Meghalaya suffer from high levels of hypertension with many of them not diagnosed timely, leading on to serious consequences. Health related literature informs that hypertension or high blood pressure is when the pressure in the blood vessels is too high (140/90 mmHg or higher). The danger is that people with high blood pressure may not feel any symptoms until it is too late. The only way to know one’s pressure is to test it regularly. Some people with high blood pressure, however, do show symptoms such as headaches, shortness of breath especially while climbing stairs etc. Others could suffer from nosebleeds. But again these symptoms are not specific. Physicians advise that it is good to have blood pressure checked at least every two years starting at age 18. Some people need more-frequent checks. They also recommend that those that can afford to, should keep a blood pressure measuring machine at home so they can do the testing themselves. Medical science tells us that untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious health problems.
There is plenty of material on how healthy lifestyles such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking or drinking alcohol is good for heart health. Hence it is not as if people are ignorant about what could cause hypertension. It is the unhealthy habits that finally take a toll on human lives. However, it is also true that stress has become one of the prime causes of hypertension. A burgeoning number of people working in the corporate sector and having to meet cruel deadlines and unrealistic goals are known to battle hypertension. A healthy work-life balance is preached in most institutions but in a highly competitive world all that is read and known remains in the realm of theory and is not practised. That a 45 year old Indian Forest Service officer serving the State, recently died of cardiac arrest and quite a few others too of a younger age are succumbing to heart attacks should alert the State Health Department of the need for better testing. This statistic should alert the Government that hypertension needs to be tackled by diagnosing hypertension through health camps that take health care closer to the people.
Health care providers advise that once hypertension is detected it is advisable to treat the ailment with medicines and revert to a healthy lifestyle and also have regular health check-ups. In Meghalaya, it is seen that people’s health seeking behaviour is erratic and most people don’t believe in regular check-ups. Better awareness about the need for health check ups would help address the problem of hypertension and other diseases too.
