Hypertensionataglance
TheSaudiBurdenofDisease2010studyshowedthatelevatedbloodpressurewasthefourth‐rankedrisk
factorfordisability‐adjustedlifeyears(DALYs)intheKingdomofSaudiArabiain2010.Highbloodpressure
accountedfor8.7%and6.4%ofDALYsformalesandfemales,respectively.Uncontrolledhypertensionis
stronglyassociatedwithhigherrisksofchronicdiseasesincludingatherosclerosisandaneurysm.
RecentdatafromtheSaudiHealth
InterviewSurvey(SHIS)showhighratesof
hypertensionintheKingdom.An
individualisconsideredhypertensiveif
theirsystolicbloodpressureis140mmHg
ormore,oriftheirdiastolicbloodpressure
is90mmHgormore,oriftheyhavebeen
diagnosedandarecurrentlytreatedfor
hypertension.Thislargehouseholdsurvey
showedthattheprevalenceof
hypertensionwas17.7%formalesand
12.5%forfemalesin2013.Theprevalence
increasedbyageandwashighestamong
thoseaged65orolder(65.2%).The
prevalenceofhypertensionvariedby
region. TheresultsfromtheSHISindicatethathypertensionisassociatedwithobesityanddiabetes.Hypertensionprevalencewas26.4%among
thosewhowereobesecomparedto10.2%amongthosewhowerenotobese.Furthermore,hypertensionprevalencewas38.9%amongthose
whowerediabeticcomparedto11.9%amongthosewhowerenotdiabetic.
TheSaudiMinistryofHealthutilizesa
publichealthapproachtoaddressthe
burdenofhypertensioninthekingdom.
Highbloodpressureisariskfactorfor:
Heartdiseaseandheartfailure
TheMOHprogramsincludetreatment
andmonitoringofthosewithhighblood
pressurelevelsandpreventive
Aneurysm
programs.Manyoftheprogramsfocus
ontheroleofnutritionandphysical
Organdamage
activityinimprovinghealthand
preventingandcontrollingchronic
diseases.ThescopeoftheMinistry’s
Visionloss
activitiesincludesleadership,policyand
Metabolicsyndrome
guidelinesdevelopment,surveillance,
epidemiologicalandbehavioral
research,interventiondevelopment,
Difficultywithmemoryandcomprehension
technicalassistancetoregionsand
communities,trainingandeducation,
communication,andpartnership
development.
Riskofatherosclerosis,ahardeningofthe
arteries,iselevatedinindividualswith
hypertension.Thiscanleadtoheartattacksor
strokes.
Aneurysms,orbulgingbloodvessels,canoccurif
bloodpressureiselevated.Ifananeurysmbursts,
itcanbefatal.
Buildup ofpressure inthebloodvesselssupplying
organssuchasthekidneyscanpreventhealthy
organfunctioning.
Buildup ofpressure inthebloodvesselssupplying
theeyescanresultinvisionloss.
Metabolicsyndromeconsistsofelevatedblood
pressure,insulinresistance,elevationofelements
ofthebloodassociatedwithinflammation,and
elevationofclottingagentsintheblood.
Elevatedbloodpressurewillimpactone’sability
tothinkandunderstand.
Source:MayoClinic,“Highbloodpressure(hypertension),”foundathttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high‐blood‐
pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=complications,accessedonDecember15,2013.
Hypertensionisfrequentlyreferredtoasa“silentkiller”becauseunlikediabetes,forexample,ithasnosymptomsandonecanlivefor
yearswithoutknowingonehasit.Forthisreason,itiscrucialtomeasureyourbloodpressureregularly,eitheratyourdoctor’soffice,
apharmacy,orusingahomemonitoringdevice.Fortunately,preventingandtreatinghypertensionisstraightforward.
CentersforDiseaseControl,“Highbloodpressure,”foundathttp://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/,accessedonDecember15,2013.
Takecontrolandmaintainahealthybloodpressure:
Eathealthyfoodsandlimitsaltintake
Maintainingahealthyweightandlimitingsaltintakecanbothhelpto
controlbloodpressure.Recommendedsodiumintakeis2,300
mg/dayorlessforyoung,healthypeople,andanevenlowerlevelof
1,500mg/dayisrecommendedforindividualsover50yearsofageor
thosewithhypertension,diabetes,orkidneydisease.
Donotsmoke
Tobaccouseacceleratestheonsetofatherosclerosisandcauses
damagetobloodvessels.
Exerciseregularlyandmaintainanormal Aminimumof30minutesadayofphysicalactivityisrecommended
BMI
tomaintainahealthyweight.Beingoverweightorobeseisstrongly
associatedwithhighbloodpressure.
Managestress
Anxietyandstressmayalsocausehighbloodpressure.Practice
stress‐reductiontechniquesandmeditation.
Source: Mayo Clinic, “High blood pressure (hypertension),” found at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high‐blood‐pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=lifestyle‐and‐home‐remedies, accessed on December 15, 2013. Whenmeasuringyourbloodpressure,usetheguidelinesoutlinedbelow.Systolicbloodpressureisthepressureinyourblood
vesselsduringaheartbeat,anddiastolicbloodpressureisthepressureinyourveinswhenyourheartrelaxes.
Normal
Atrisk(prehypertension)
High
Bloodpressurelevels
Systolic:lessthan120mmHg
Diastolic:lessthan80mmHg
Systolic:120–139mmHg
Diastolic:80–89mmHg
Systolic:140mmHgorhigher
Diastolic:90mmHgorhigher
Source: Centers for Disease Control, “High blood pressure,” found at http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/, accessed on December 15, 2013.