High blood pressure is often seen as an old age problem. People experience abnormal blood pressure, for the first time, in their 50s and 60s mostly. But does that mean the incidence of elevated blood pressure is only specific to age? While the right answer to this is "No", it is important to understand what influences the rise in blood pressure. Experts have spoken against this biggest myth related to high blood pressure and the aftereffects like heart problems.
"People younger than 40 years can also have the problem of high BP"
Dr.Priyanka Sehrawat, a Gurugram based Neurologist, has posted on Instagram on this issue. "This is not true. There is a term called young age hypertension or young onset hypertension. This means people as young as 22-23 years old can have high blood pressure sometimes due to some causes." "Too Young to have high BP? Do you think only elderly people are affected by hypertension or high BP? Well, people younger than 40 years can also have the problem of high BP although the reasons differ. Common causes of Young onset hypertension are: Hyperthyroidism, Kidney issues, Renal artery hypertension, Coarctation of aorta, Pheochromocytoma and Substance use," she has posted on social media.READMORE
"The causes of high BP in young and old differ a lot"
Dr Sehrawat says that the causes of the onset of high blood pressure in young and old people differs a lot. "One example of high BP in young is hyperthyroidism, in which the level of T3 and T4 is exceptionally high" she explains. Among other reasons, which she has put in the caption, are kidney issues, renal artery hypertension, substance use, coarctation of aorta or the constriction of body's main artery or aorta, pheochromocytoma or neuroendocrine tumor that grows from chromaffin cells found in the adrenal glands. Read the post here
Blood pressure matters even when you are young
Being young does not safeguard one's health from adversities because most of the health issues are related to one's lifestyle. As per a study published in AHA Journals in 2019, hypertension among young people is common, affecting 1 in 8 adults aged between 20 and 40 years."Hypertension can have harmful health effects even at a young age. In the short term, it is associated with higher rates of left ventricular hypertrophy and alterations in brain volume and white matter hyperintensity volume, suggesting that hypertension in young adults may impact cardiovascular and brain health," the study says.
Unawareness, lack of diagnosis pose bigger risk
The myth surrounding the onset of hypertension is so prevalent that young adults do not notice the symptoms and even if they do, they are not concerned about it and skip going to a doctor.These factors add up and increase the risk of hypertension in young people.Young
people should check their blood pressure regularly. High blood pressure does not have any early warning signs and only the symptoms associated with the complications arising out of an elevated blood pressure are visible albeit at a later stage.
What can be done to alleviate this risk?
Simple and healthy habits like seasonal and balanced diet, exercising more, staying away from processed food, limiting salt or sodium intake, maintaining weight can help cut down the risk of high blood pressure.The ideal salt intake per day should be less than 1,500 mg.One should exercise for a minimum of 150 minutes per week. Exercises do not necessarily mean going to gym, one can get the benefit of exercises through daily chores like walking stairs, mopping the floor while squatting, etc.One should always avoid having saturated and trans fats. Uneasiness in these body parts might be due to heart problem.
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