Abstract:
Hypertension (aka High blood pressure (BP)) is a worrisome problem in India and is on the rise in urban and rural populations. With increasing economic growth rate, India is not only facing the epidemic of CAD but also of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Cardiovascular diseases caused 2.3 million deaths in India in the year 1990; this is projected to double by the year 2020. Hypertension is directly responsible for 57% of all stroke deaths and 24% of all coronary heart disease deaths in India. The Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES) shows that hypertension was present in 1/5th of urban south Indian population and majority of the hypertensive subjects still remain undetected and the control of hypertension is also inadequate. The scenario is similar throughout India. This calls for urgent prevention and control measures for hypertension. However, lifestyle modification is mostly neglected in the management of hypertension. In the present article we will discuss some of the non-pharmacological measures in the prevention of hypertension. Lifestyle changes should be the initial approach to hypertension management and include dietary interventions (reducing salt, increasing potassium, alcohol avoidance, and multifactorial diet control), weight reduction, tobacco cessation, physical exercise, and stress management.
Author Name : Rachna Mundada, Sangeetha G
Keywords: Hypertension, Management, Physical Exercise.
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