Karachi: Hypertension is estimated to affect 42 percent of Pakistani adults, cardiologists said at more than 50 health screening camps in 19 cities where over 10,000 adults received blood pressure checks, urging regular monitoring and timely treatment.
Speaking at the camps held across Pakistan to mark World Heart Day, the cardiologists said hypertension affects one in three adults worldwide and often has no obvious symptoms. Persistently elevated and untreated blood pressure can damage blood vessels, the heart, brain and kidneys over the years, they added.
They stressed the importance of regular blood pressure checks at community and primary-care levels. A single elevated reading does not establish a diagnosis, which requires repeat measurements and clinical assessment.
Health experts identified hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking, unhealthy food and physical inactivity as major preventable risk factors behind Pakistan’s growing cardiovascular disease burden.
‘High blood pressure and cholesterol can be detected before they cause a heart attack or stroke, but people need to get checked and continue treatment if it is prescribed,’ cardiologists said.
NICVD Associate Professor of Electrophysiology Dr Ghazala Irfan urged people to adopt healthier lifestyles and regularly monitor their cardiovascular risk factors.
Director of the PIMS Cardiac Centre Dr Fazal Aziz Mian stressed the importance of prevention, timely screening and medical care in protecting people from cardiovascular disease.
PIMS consultant cardiologist and Associate Professor of Cardiology Dr Syed Nasir Ali Shah called for greater public awareness and more physically active lifestyles.
Organisers said Getz Pharma held more than 50 free health screening camps in 19 cities across Pakistan to promote screening and awareness on World Heart Day. More than 10,000 adults received blood pressure screening, while cholesterol checks were also offered.
The camps were held in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Abbottabad, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Quetta, Hyderabad and Nawabshah.