Health Days 2014

Hypertension is defined as steady increase in pressurizing the blood vessels; this in turn strains the function of pumping the blood to the heart. Therefore, it is considered one of the main factors leading to the cardiovascular diseases. Both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases account for the early death cases worldwide. Meanwhile, researchers estimate the number of deaths linked to the hypertension at 9, 4 million ones every year.   

 

Detecting the hypertension is the first step towards preventing and regulating it. As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on all the adults around the world to measure their blood pressure. In other words, knowing one's blood pressure level enables them to take the necessary steps to regulate it. 

 

In 2000, the number of adults with hypertension ,globally, stood at 972 million people, and it is expected that such a number will rise up to 1, 56 billion people by the advent of 2025. This is put down to several factors such as life style highlighted in the lack of exercising, following salt-rich diet and processed and fatty food, alcohol, and smoking. These causes contributed to increasing the disease incidence rate. 

 

In a similar fashion, the results of the health survey conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) underlined that the hypertension incidence rate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood at 15,1%, of which the males' rate reached up to 17,7% , whereas female's rate amounted to 12,5%. Also, the hypertension incidence rates increase as the age advances. To that effect, the highest incidence rate has been recorded at the 65 and above age group by the percentage of 65, 2. All the more, the survey revealed that the incidence rate of the males' pre-hypertension stage reached up to 46, 5%, equaling 304 million ones. On the other hand, the females' rate amounted to 34, 3%, as many as 2, 18 million ones.