Vietnam is in the group of countries with a high rate of stroke due to complications of hypertension. Many people do not know they have hypertension or are subjective about the disease.
Two prominent complications of hypertension are stroke and myocardial infarction. “Vietnam is located in an area with a high rate of stroke complications, only slightly lower than China,” Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Minh, Chairman of the Vietnam Heart Association, said at the disease’s scientific conference. FV Hospital, April 20. Meanwhile, in many countries, complications of myocardial infarction due to hypertension account for a high rate.
According to World Health Organization statistics, the rate of hypertension in the world ranges from 23 to 37%, meaning one in every 3 to 4 people has it. Hypertension is a condition that occurs when systolic blood pressure is greater than 140, diastolic blood pressure is greater than 90 mmHg or you are taking medication.
The proportion of people with hypertension has not changed over the past 30 years, but the number of people diagnosed with the disease increased from 648 million in 1990 to 1.28 billion in 2019. This is explained by aging and growth. In the population, more and more people with the disease are discovered. Low- and middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, have the highest number of people with high blood pressure.
Prof. Dr. Huynh Van Minh, President of the Vietnam Heart Association, spoke at the conference on April 20. Image: Hospital provided
According to Professor Minh, the control of hypertension is still largely unsatisfactory worldwide. In Vietnam, statistics show that 25% of men and 21.6% of women have the disease, but not everyone can achieve and maintain target blood pressure.
Factors that make it difficult to control blood pressure are that many patients are poor, do not have health insurance, and lack knowledge about the disease. High blood pressure often progresses silently, many people do not know they have the disease. People who have been diagnosed with the disease often do not comply with treatment, use insufficient doses of medication, and do not actively change their lifestyle as recommended.
Recently, large hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have received quite a lot of people in their 20s and 30s who suffered strokes and cerebral hemorrhages, leading to death or disability, due to not knowing they had high blood pressure or being subjective about the disease. This. This is considered a silent killer, because many people with the disease are still healthy, but when their blood pressure is measured, they realize it is very high.
Long-term hypertension that is not well controlled can cause complications in the heart, leading to myocardial infarction, heart failure, and arrhythmia. In the kidneys, hypertension causes acute kidney damage, chronic kidney disease and eventually leads to end-stage chronic kidney failure requiring periodic dialysis. The disease can also cause reduced vision, blindness, atherosclerosis leading to pain in the legs when walking, and even ulcers and necrosis that require limb amputation, causing disability. High blood pressure can also be a cause of erectile dysfunction, especially if accompanied by diabetes and smoking.
Medical staff measure a patient’s blood pressure. Image: Quynh Tran
Professor Minh recommends that people with high blood pressure comply with treatment and self-monitor their blood pressure at home. Follow a healthy diet, reduce salt, and limit salty foods. Increase potassium intake, eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and reduce saturated fat and total fat content.
Lose weight, maintain a reasonable weight, because systolic blood pressure is expected to decrease by about one mmHg for each kilogram of weight loss. Be physically active, with priority given to aerobic exercise and brisk walking 5-7 times per week, 30-60 minutes per session. Reduce alcohol consumption, no more than 2 drinks for men and no more than one small drink per day for women.