New Delhi:  High Blood Pressure or Hypertension coupled with stress and lack of sleep raises risk of heart attack and brain stroke by 4 times. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease and brain stroke and when hypertension is paired with lack of sleep and stress, the risk increases even more sharply, said health experts.

Leading cardiologist and Medical director of New Delhi based Kalra  Hospital & Sri Ram Cardio – Thoracic &

Neurosciences Centre (SRCNC) Dr. R. N. Kalra said that high blood pressure raises risk of heart attack because when blood pressure become elevated, the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. This extra work thickens the muscles of heart, and it can also harden or damage artery walls. As a result, less oxygen makes its way to the body’s organs, and the heart becomes damaged over time to due to its increased world load.

Dr. Kalra was speaking on the eve of “World Hypertension Day” which is observed worldwide to generate awareness on Hypertension. It is estimated that one in four Indian suffer from hypertension, with 50% not even aware of the condition.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of Neuro Surgery at New Delhi based Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre said that high blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes, both symptomatic and silent. Both systolic and diastolic hypertension contribute to risk; the higher your pressure, the higher your risk. According to recent studies, hypertension increases risk of stroke by more than 200 percent.

Dr. Rahul Gupta tells that hypertension is a silent killer and people should get their BP checked regularly. Keeping blood pressure in control is essential to prevent life threatening events. Healthy lifestyle, regular exercise, quitting any tobacco use, 7 hours of sleep, stress management, high intake of fruits, limit alcohol intake; are most important in prevention of cardio vascular disease.

In India a staggering 139 million people are suffering from uncontrolled hypertension, and that number is growing every year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) high blood pressure is responsible for 57 per cent of all stroke deaths and 24 per cent of all coronary heart disease deaths in India.

“The reason the condition is termed as “silent killer” is because more than 30% of people who have high blood pressure are not even aware of it. Most of the times, there are very minor symptoms or no symptoms at all. Some of the signs you must look out for are difficulty in breathing, chest pain or heaviness, headaches, irregular heartbeat (palpitation), problems in vision, problems in urination,” said Dr. R. N. Kalra.

He says “These small indicators may harbor some consequences as damage of arteries and vital organs of the body which may further lead to life-threatening medical emergencies. Therefore, we must not only identify and control

hypertension but also promote a healthy lifestyle and preventive strategies to decrease the prevalence of hypertension in the general population.

Dr. Rahul Gupta said that what is most worrisome fact about hypertension is that it can affect any age group. Thought to be the disease of the elderly or the obese, now days it is being more frequently diagnosed in the young. Hypertension can affect any organ of the body, be it the brain, the heart or the kidneys. Patients can complain of headaches, tiredness, anxiety, dizziness, weakness, confusion nausea, chest pain and even weakness in one side of the body.

He said that although hypertension can be genetic or secondary to a disease, most often the cause is poor life style choices like, lack of sleep, weight gain, lack of exercise, stress, long working hours, smoking, junk food, excessive alcohol intake etc. Treatment of hypertension is almost always with medicines but lifestyle modifications can prevent high blood pressure as well as keep the medicines to a minimum. Life style modifications not only include exercise and yoga rather adopting a healthy diet is the cornerstone for a healthy body.