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UAE doctors warn of 'silent killer' high blood pressure; new guidelines help early detection

Earlier, anyone who fell between 120/70 mmHg and 140/90 mmHg were only advised to make lifestyle changes

Published: Tue 3 Dec 2024, 6:00 AM

Updated: Tue 3 Dec 2024, 8:27 PM

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Image used for illustrative purpose. Photo: File

Image used for illustrative purpose. Photo: File

New guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are helping to treat patients with elevated blood pressure in a more timely manner according to experts in the UAE.

“As per medical guidelines issued by several leading providers, blood pressure (BP) of 120/70 mmHg is considered normal and anything above 140/90 mmHg is considered hypertension,” explained Dr Sachin Upadhyaya, Cardiology Specialist at Aster Hospital Mankhool.

Earlier, anyone who fell between these two ranges were not treated with medicine, he said.

"They were only advised to make lifestyle changes. However, according to new guidelines, such patients can be given pharmacological treatment if we do a scoring system and identify individuals at high cardiovascular risk.”

Released in August this year, the guidelines introduce a new category of 'Elevated BP' which is defined as 120-139/70-89 mmHg.

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Dr Sachin explained that the new guidelines provide much needed support to doctors to ensure that their patients are given adequate care. “Blood pressure is a silent killer,” he said. “Sixty-seven per cent of stroke cases happens because of high blood pressure. Fifty per cent of heart diseases and heart attacks that happen are also because of high blood pressure. So, the importance of treating elevated blood pressure on time is very high.”

He added that the purpose of these guidelines is to detect the individuals who were previously considered to have normal or marginally high blood pressure. “This helps us identify individuals who have high cardiovascular risk among this group so that they can be put on the right treatment to avoid future complications,” he said. “Moreover, the drugs that are used to treat them provide benefits. It provides protection to the brain, heart and kidneys.”

Early detection

The guidelines helped in early detection and treatment of harmful conditions, Dr Ashraf M. Al Azzoni, staff physician at Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute in Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said.

“Rather than wait years for hypertension to affect organs unknowingly, these guidelines help doctors to address issues early on,” he said. “This will allow them to start medication sooner than later. It will also allow the physician to counsel them on lifestyle changes and monitor their blood pressure closely.”

His colleague, Dr Ronney Shantouf, said that the new guidelines helped physicians and patients think more carefully about hypertension. “When the limits are set at 140, there is a tendency for patients to let 145 and 150 go,” he said. “But when the limit is set closer to 120, they will think and observe their blood pressure very carefully.”

Dr Sachin further added that he has observed many youngsters developing high blood pressure. “High blood pressure in an elderly individual is common, but now we see more and more younger individuals having high blood pressure,” he said. “That is because of two factors, poor lifestyles – leading to increased cardiovascular risk – and sympathetic overdrive. Increased sympathetic overdrive in the body can cause weight gain and several other issues.”

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