Amit (name changed), a 31-year-old techie, was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) in one of the screening camps conducted for its employees by the company.
Over the past decade, there has been a paradigm shift. Hypertension, an ailment which used to be a problem among people over the age of 45 years, is now affecting those in the early 30s. Epidemiological studies suggest that the prevalence of hypertension in young urban adults is as high as 20-30%. Roughly two to three in every ten young urban adults are affected with hypertension, says Dr Rajpal Singh, consultant, interventional cardiologist, Fortis Hospitals.
“Sedentary lifestyle, rapid urbanisation, poor diet, smoking, lack of physical exercise, obesity and increasing work pressure are the major causes. This is true of the younger age groups, with more prevalence among IT people who are not even aware that they have hypertension. It is only when they come for routine check that this is found," said Dr Singh.
Those with a family history of high blood pressure are at a higher risk, he added. When asked how one can control high blood pressure he said, “Getting screened at an early stage is one way through which blood pressure can be controlled. If one develops symptoms like tiredness, giddiness, chest pain and difficulty in breathing, they must get themselves checked. For young people whose blood pressure is consistently higher than 140/90 and for those who are diabetic, if their blood pressure levels are higher than 130/80, they need closer monitoring and control.”
Treatment involves lifestyle changes and drug therapy. Dr Singh said, “There is good evidence that regular exercise for at least half an hour a day, reducing intake of junk food, fried food and salt , not smoking and reducing alcohol intake will help in bringing about a modest reduction in blood pressure recordings. Yoga has also been quite helpful in reducing blood pressure.”
Meanwhile, if non-pharmacological methods are not helpful, one can always resort to the pharmacological method by using anti-hypertensive drugs. “Recently a new technology called renal artery denervation has shown promising results. This can be used only in patients who have resistant hypertension despite use of three or more anti-hypertensive drugs.” Besides reduction of life expectancy, high blood pressure can also trigger coronary artery disease, stroke and kidney ailments among young adults in the long run, added Dr Singh.