New Delhi: High blood pressure, which we often ignore as a ‘disease of old age’, is now silently making the youth of the country its victims. According to a recent analysis, every fifth youth of India is in the grip of this ‘silent killer’. The surprising thing is that despite being ill, most of the youth do not even realize it. This important research of PGI Chandigarh and other leading institutes is being awarded the Second Best Prize in the ‘Medicine Category’ of the professors today on the ‘Institute Day’ of PGI. Honor on the Foundation Day of PGI: Considering the importance of this research, it has been selected for the Second Best Prize in the ‘Medicine Category’ under the Professor category in the ‘Institute Day’ (Foundation Day) ceremony of PGIMER (PGI), Chandigarh. This honor will be conferred today during the foundation day program of the institute. Experts believe that this study can prove to be a milestone in health policy making in India.
The system proved to be lax in terms of treatment
This report based on the data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has exposed the health system. According to the study, the prevalence of hypertension in the population aged 15 to 54 years has reached 18.3 percent. According to statistics, about 70 percent people got their BP checked at some point of time, but only 34 percent of them came to know about their disease. The most serious situation is to be treated; Despite taking regular medicines, only 7.8 percent of the patients’ blood pressure was found under control. This shows that our health system is limited to only testing and we are far behind in terms of proper ‘follow-up’. This research published in ‘Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia’ shows that this disease is more merciless on men than women. While its incidence in women is 14.8 percent, in men it has crossed the dangerous limit of 21.6 percent. According to the report, low-income and less educated youth in rural areas are most vulnerable to this. This problem is spreading rapidly especially among unmarried men and the population living away from physical labour. Lack of awareness is deepening this crisis. Studies have revealed that along with changing lifestyle, addiction to smoking, tobacco and alcohol are the biggest causes of this disease. Youth who are drug addicts are not only becoming victims of high BP, but they have also been found to be the most careless regarding treatment. India has set a target of reducing the cases of high blood pressure by 25 percent by the year 2025. Experts suggest that merely setting up testing camps will not suffice, but a solid strategy will have to be made to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines in rural areas and to connect patients with long-term treatment.