Hypertension And Urbanization: Expert Explains The Connection

Urbanization has often been proposed as one of the main drivers of the increasing burden of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in lower and middle-income countries.

Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the blood vessels. High blood pressure is a common condition but serious if not treated. Hypertension is when blood pressure is consistently higher than 140 over 90 mm of mercury. Urbanization has often been proposed as one of the main drivers of the increasing burden of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in lower and middle-income countries. While there is no standard definition of urbanization, it can be explained in terms of political, social and economic forces, leading to considerable changes in lifestyle; such as changes in sources of livelihood, food, transportation, family structure, and environmental exposures.

However, there have been contradictory notions about the prevalence of hypertension in rural and urban spaces. As per some studies, people with higher socio-economic positions are less likely to suffer from hypertension because of factors like education, awareness around the topic and concern to improve health. On the contrary, some studies claim that a higher socio-economic position can also be associated with excessive consumption of alcohol, excessive calorie intake, or a greater likelihood of sedentary employment.

Hypertension and Urbanization

According to Dr Sanjay Kumar, Director & HOD, Department of Cardiology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, (Faridabad), the prevalence of hypertension in the country is around 30 per cent.

He said: “The prevalence of hypertension is increasing with more urbanization. A sedentary lifestyle, increased intake of fast foods and packaged foods, air pollution, work stress, and lack of physical activity are some of the reasons behind hypertension. In children, hypertension is usually due to heart disease, metabolic abnormalities, genetic disorders, or hormonal disorders. But after puberty, essential hypertension (lifestyle disease) overtakes other causes.”

Environmental changes are also an aftermath of urbanization and according to Dr Kumar, these sudden, invisible changes are also contributing to the increased burden of hypertension among people living in urban spaces.

He said: “During October and November, when PM2.5 levels are high and more people report high blood pressure. Hypertension usually is asymptomatic or causes dull headaches by evening and breathlessness on exertion but it can also lead to emergencies like acute LV ventricular failure, stroke, sudden loss of vision, and aortic dissection.”

What measures can be taken?

According to Dr Kumar, hypertension or high blood pressure occurs when the blood pressure rises to an unhealthy level. The disease is very common and develops over the years. Narrow arteries cause more resistance and increase blood pressure. This force can cause damage to blood vessels, and lead to heart attack, brain stroke, kidney damage, or nerve damage.

In his closing comments, the expert shared tips on how to prevent hypertension. He said: “To control hypertension, one should reduce salt intake to 2.5-3.0 gm a day, walk 5 km a day, avoid food items that are high in sodium content such as pickles and chutneys, eat 3 fruits a day and 3 servings of salad a day, abstain from over-consumption of alcohol and limit it to only 60ml per day, undertake aerobic exercises like walking, running, badminton, swimming, avoid processed and red meats and keep a watch on the body weight.”