Damascus-SANA

More than 98,<> people suffer from high blood pressure and are classified as "heart patients" and receive the services of the Ministry of Health through its centers spread across all governorates.

High blood pressure is a chronic disease and is a serious condition that significantly increases the risk of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases and is one of the leading causes of premature death in the world.

How and when does high blood pressure occur?

In a statement to SANA, the Director of the Directorate of Communicable and Chronic Diseases at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Zuhair Al-Sahwi, pointed to the importance of raising awareness about the symptoms of high blood pressure and stimulating knowledge of blood pressure measurements and early prevention methods, in addition to highlighting the size of the prevalence of high blood pressure in the community, explaining that the number of registered patients in all governorates reached 98.598 patients.

Al-Sahawi pointed out that high blood pressure occurs when systolic blood pressure is equal to or higher than 140 mm and diastolic blood pressure is equal to or higher than 90 mm, pointing out that high blood pressure is a major cause of premature death worldwide, and must be controlled to prevent serious health complications such as heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.

According to Al-Sahwi, high blood pressure is called the "silent killer" because the symptoms may not appear clearly, pointing out that an unhealthy lifestyle can increase the risk of high blood pressure, as the risk factors for infection and changeable are due to eating unhealthy diets such as excessive salt consumption, a diet rich in saturated fats and trans fats, reducing the intake of fruits and vegetables, in addition to inactivity, tobacco and alcohol abuse, overweight or obesity, and the risk factors are not changeable It is represented in

Family history of high blood pressure over the age of 65, and its association with other diseases such as diabetes or kidney disease.

Symptoms include early morning headaches, nosebleeds, tachycardia, blurred vision, ringing in the ears or fatigue, nausea, vomiting, confusion and anxiety, chest pain and muscle tremors.

What are the ways to prevent hypertension?

Al-Sahwi pointed out that to prevent and reduce the burden of high blood pressure, a set of healthy behaviors must be practiced, such as eating healthy food, regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco and alcohol use, and it can be treated and controlled by reducing and managing psychological stress and checking blood pressure regularly.

Al-Sahwi pointed out that in order to raise awareness of the importance of measuring periodic blood pressure and knowing its normal levels, the world celebrates annually on the seventeenth of May the World Day of Hypertension, and this year's celebration was under the slogan "Measure your blood pressure accurately and control it for a longer life."

According to Dr. Al-Sahwi, the Ministry of Health is keen to provide medicines for patients with high blood pressure free of charge in health centers in all governorates, and the condition of patients is monitored monthly in these centers by cardiologists.

Bushra Barhoum

Follow SANA News on Telegram https://t.me/SyrianArabNewsAgency