High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a silent enemy as it manifests itself quietly and wreaks much havoc undetected. Undetected hypertension was a dangerous disease like diabetes or cancer which reduce the life expectancy of a person, says Dr. Murthy at an event held by Heart and Brain Institute of the Andhra Hospitals Group in association with The Hindu to observe World Hypertension Day (WHD) on May 17.

The difference between knowing that one suffered from hypertension, and not knowing, was a minimum 10 years of normal life, said Andhra Group of Hospitals Managing Director and Chief Surgical Gastroenterologist P.V. Ramana Murthy.

Addressing doctors, paramedics and patients at the event, Dr. Murthy said with a simple health check, hypertension could be detected. He also said that 3 out of 10 people were suffering from hypertension worldwide.

About 1.8 billion people were suffering from the disease globally, while 50 % of them were totally unaware of their condition and half of the people who were aware of their condition were not taking their medication properly. As many as 1.4 million had hypertension in India and the number was likely to go up to 2.20 million by 2030.

Hence, it is not just about observing World Hypertension Day every year, it is our responsibility to encourage common people having hypertension to go to their health practitioner for the regular checkup and proper treatment. It is also necessary to promote to the common public to maintain their normal weight, normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol level, healthy eating, healthy living, and regular physical exercise.