Study shows that hypertension has been growing among young

Hypertension is a silent enemy. It occurs when the blood pumped into the arteries of the heart is trouble on the road that runs through the body. Most of the victims of the disease do not feel nothing, which contributes to the diagnosis and treatment are delayed. A new U.S. study suggests that evil has affected young people in a much larger scale than previously thought.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicate that the United States, almost 20% of people between 24 and 32 years have hypertension. Half of the quota does not even realize that is the problem. The work was published recently in the journal Epidemiology.

The epidemiologist and assistant professor in medicine Eric Whitsel, one of the coordinators of the research, the study considers the result as a “tragedy foretold.” The researchers examined 14 000 men and women who had blood pressure less than 14 / 9. “We found that almost one in five young people in our country has high blood pressure. Changes in diet, physical inactivity and obesity have contributed to this increase. Although it is a local study, we know that the same has occurred in several locations around the world, “he adds.

Reduction of salt
The researcher argues that more alarming than the growing problem among individuals so new is the lack of care of their own health. “Hypertension is detected in a simple, simply take the measurement at least once a year with a calibrated device. If young people do not know they are sick is because they are giving up a life-saving care, “he laments. Whitsel adds that the key to avoiding evil includes the reduction of dietary sodium to less than 2.300mg/dia, moderation in alcohol consumption and maintenance of body mass index less than 25kg / m².

In Brazil, the situation is rather worrying. The Ministry of Health indicate that hypertension affects more than 50% of the elderly population and is present in 5% of children and adolescents. Although there are no studies that indicate how the problem affects young people in particular, doctors confirm that it occurs among Brazilians under 35 years has increased each year. The disease is responsible for 50% of heart attacks, 80% of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) and 25% of cases of renal damage increasingly common in the age group analyzed in the U.S. study.

According to the nephrologist and vice president of the Brazilian Society of Hypertension (SBH), Decio Mion Junior, the lack is not so much that patients diagnosed take the treatment seriously – most neglected care and drug therapy. “Even the doctors who suffer from the problem does not give him enough attention. A survey conducted at the Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP) found that only 35% of physicians treating hypertensive state “, he says. For Mion Junior, neglect is unjustified because the currently available drugs do not cause the side effects reported in the past. “People do not accept having a chronic illness and stop treatment. Men are afraid of impotence, but it does not occur with prescription drugs today, “he says.

Modern Times
High blood pressure is a multifactorial disease and the situations that trigger are increasingly present in contemporary life. Inadequate diet, excessive consumption of processed foods and fast foods, overweight and physical inactivity are major. The nephrologist adds that individuals with hypertension in cases of family or outside the ideal weight and do not exercise regularly should check the pressure every six months. “Those who are outside this risk group should be measured once a year,” he indicates.

The business manager Sabrina Lima e Silva, 28, suffers from hypertension for at least four years. “I felt nothing. By chance, during a dental treatment, dentist check my blood pressure and was jumped. He recommended that I seek immediate medical attention. I confess that I ignored the warning, “he admits. “It was not afraid because I thought my body would advise if my health was at risk. Once I came to the hospital after a doctor measured my blood pressure.

My case is hereditary, my mother is also hypertensive, “he says. Sabrina surrendered to the warnings and proceeded to follow medical recommendations. It takes two drugs to control the disease, learned not to overdo the salt and stir the body with more discipline.

The cardiologist and medical program manager Total Care, Amil, Bruno Ganen, notes that there is a specific symptom of hypertension. Generalized manifestations occur, such as headache, vomiting, nausea, visual changes. “All this is more common in those with the disease for years. Hypertension is an asymptomatic really evil and treacherous for most people. The diagnosis is easy, but requires that the patient has the initiative to measure, “adds Bruno. The non-pharmacological treatment can be, when hypertension is linked to obesity. “Often, we can reverse the loss of weight, diet and discipline in controlling the intake of alcohol. When you can not regulate the pressure with all these measures, the patient is to take medication for the rest of my life, “he adds.

Thais Professor Thomas Smith, 24, was diagnosed with hypertension in early 2010. She suspects that had been suffering with the disease for some time, but only after feeling some symptoms related to the evil sought medical attention. “Weight 120kg and have high blood pressure cases in the family. I just join a weight loss program. I hope to change this situation. For now, I take drugs once a day, “he says.