HEALTH: High blood pressure a silent killer

An extensive awareness raising talk programme was organised jointly by Norvic International Hospital, Jayanti Memorial Trust (JMT) and Heart Club of Nepal in the Capital on Saturday to discuss cardiovascular diseases and hypertension.
Dr. Kasliwal also said that more men have high blood pressure than women till the age of 45. “It becomes more common for both men and women as they age, and more women have hypertension by the time they reach 65.” He said control of weight and alcohol and regular exercise help keep high blood pressure at bay.The other speakers at the programme stressed for regular intake of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods, low-fat dairy, fish, poultry and nuts as well as reducing sodium in diet. RSS

Dr Ravi R. Kasliwal, Chairman of Preventive and Clinical Cardiology, Medanta, of India, who was the key note speaker, said high blood pressure is the silent killer because it may have no outward symptoms for years. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, occurs when the systolic pressure is consistently over 140 mm Hg or the diastolic blood pressure is consistently over 900 mm Hg, he said.