'Patients of hypertension increasing rapidly'

Cardiologist and General Secretary of Pakistan Hyper-Tension League, Professor Mohammad Ishaq has said that the number of patients suffering from hypertension in Pakistan has been increasing rapidly nowadays.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the seminar on World Hypertension Day organized at the Arag Auditorium, Dow University of Health Sciences, he said that high blood pressure is being persistent worldwide. He said hypertension is being common at a rate of 20 percent approximately in the patients who are over 18 years of age while 30 percent in the urban areas of the country. He further added that high blood pressure is a silent killer. We are fortunate that 65 percent of our population is comprised of the youth but, on the other hand, our environment, habits and our life style is actively promoting the rate of high blood pressure and there are more chances of this rate will keep on increasing if the situation persists.
Registrar Dow University of Health Sciences, Professor Dr Amanullah Abbasi said that our daily lives are associated with continuous stress and there are no physical activities. This is the core reason hypertension is budding at an increasing and alarming rate. Without any endeavors to reduce obesity by controlling our eating habits, we would not be able to reduce this rate of increasing hypertension.
Director of Cardiology Department Dr Ruth Pfao Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr Nawaz Lashari said that the rate of hypertension is increasing due to obesity in USA. There have been around 50 million patients who are suffering from hypertension while this number increases to 1 billion worldwide. He added that around 40 thousand patients are visited in the OPD of cardiology department while 3700 patients in ICU. The ECG facility is given to almost 15,000 patients, Angiography to 1200 patients, Angioplasty to 260 patients and ETT to 900 patients.
There have been introduction of new machines which would be able to serve and accommodate more patients in the coming days.
Dr Muhammad Taufiq, Medical Superintendent, CHK, Dr Nawaz Lashari, Professor Mansoor Ahmed, Dr Ghulam Abbas, and others also shared their views regarding the topic with the audience.