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Blood pressure ever on the rise

14 January 2010

At 70, Angay Wangmo is still going strong without any disease. Her granddaughter Tshering, though, is obese and has been diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 16.

According to annual health bulletin 2009 published by the Ministry of Health, 20,347 cases of hypertension had been referred to hospital in 2009 in Bhutan, up from 19,347 cases in 2008. In 2004, there were 14,195 cases of hypertension.

Health statistics show that hypertension cases have been increasing over the years. As long as the food habit and lifestyle of Bhutanese remain the same, it will be one of the major causes of death in years to come, according to a medical official in Thimphu.

A Dr Tashi Wangdi, a medical specialist at Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) in Thimphu, 80 percent of hypertension cases referred to the hospital is preventable.

The main cause of hypertension is salt and fatty food without which a Bhutanese meal would be incomplete. “One of the main causes of morbidity in the country is hypertension because we consume traditional diet, which is very rich, and our lifestyle has become much easier,” said Dr Tashi Wangdi.

According to him, most people think that, if they suffer from hypertension, they should have symptoms, which is true only with 50 percent of the cases. “You cannot rely on symptoms to diagnose hypertension,” he said.

Another medical official at JDWNRH said Bhutanese have the tendency to consume more salt. We don’t notice it because of excess chilli, he said.

Hypertension is the second highest cause of kidney failure cases. It also causes strokes, and in fact, it doesn’t spare any organ in the body, according to Dr Tashi Wangdi.

3four50 shows the causes and morbidity rate of lifestyle diseases. ‘3’ means 3 risk factors, which are lack of exercise, bad diet and smoking. ‘four’ shows the four diseases, which are type two diabetes (non-insulin dependent), cancer, cardiovascular diseases and chronic lung diseases. ‘50’ stands for 50 percent of morbidity rate caused by these diseases.

On prevention measures, Dr Tashi Wangdi said it was an individual responsibility.

When weight reduces, blood pressure comes down. He said the stakeholders like health sector can provide information, the municipal corporation can create space for people to do physical exercises and the policymakers can decide whether international fast food joints like KFC, McDonald’s should be brought into the country.

By Kuenzang C Choden

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