Hypertension is no longer an old man's disease

Have you checked your blood pressure (BP) lately?

If you smoke, have an unhealthy diet, drink alcohol, don’t get much sleep and physical activity, have a stressful job and are overweight, then it’s about time you do. Because, if left unchecked, high blood pressure could be a major health risk.

Entrepreneur Virgie Monton had no idea she was already a walking time bomb two years ago.

“My daughter Bianca, who was diagnosed with hypertension at 33, came home with her new gadget — a digital sphygmomanometer,” Virgie recalls. “She then advised me to have my blood pressure checked since I hadn’t done it in a long while.”

Well, why would she? Virgie was already a seniorella and believed she was in the pink of health. But the blood pressure monitor proved her wrong.

“I couldn’t believe the figures on the monitor — 200/100,” relates Virgie. “So I advised my daughter to return the gadget and have it replaced because it was defective.”

Bianca did as she was told. However, when she took her mom’s BP using the new gadget, she got the same result.

“I was surprised because I didn’t feel anything, except I easily got irritated,” says Virgie.

According to Dr. Leilani Mercado-Asis, president of the Philippine Society for Hypertension, high blood pressure is dangerous because oftentimes, it doesn’t show any symptoms.

“Virgie is lucky. Because a person with a 200/100 BP is a candidate for a stroke,” warns Dr. Asis.

This condition, if left unmanaged, could also significantly increase the risk of a heart attack, heart failure, aneurysm and renal failure.

Please be careful with your heart

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a major burden in Asia and many parts of the world. The disease comes with a high prevalence rate.

Unfortunately, in the Philippines, less than half of the people with hypertension know that they have it.

“Virgie isn’t alone. There are a lot of Filipinos who don’t know they’re hypertensive — increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease,” says Dr. Asis.

In the Philippines, a study shows that deaths and the burden of disease attributable to hypertension significantly grew over the last three decades.

“The hypertension death rate increased from 11 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2017, while hypertension-related disabilities rose from four percent to 11 percent,” notes Dr. Asis.

Hypertension prevalence among Filipino adults is projected to remain stagnant using the long-term historical trend (1993 to 2015).

“With the consistent prevalence rate, the projected number of Filipino adults with hypertension is expected to almost double in the year 2050,” warns Dr. Asis. “At the Philippine Society for Hypertension, our goal is to reduce the number of people who are hypertensive. And one way of doing that is by spreading awareness about the disease.”

Every year, the society holds the May Measurement Month, where they check the blood pressure of everyone they see on the streets, in the malls and at the park.

“It’s a synchronized screening,” Dr. Asis adds. “Hypertension is controllable and preventable. And you wouldn’t know your BP is elevated if you don’t take time to have it checked.”

What’s also alarming is that hypertension is no longer an old man’s disease.

“Our patients are also getting younger — some in their 20s,” notes the amiable doctor.

Joining the Philippine Society for Hypertension in spreading awareness about the disease is Menarini Asia Pacific, part of the world’s largest Italian biopharmaceutical company, Menarini Group.

In an organized media forum titled “Heart All Right? The Benefit of Being Heart Aware,” Menarini Asia Pacific encouraged individuals to take a proactive role in managing hypertension.

Prevention is key

While a healthy lifestyle is always a strong shield against high blood pressure and its damaging effects, hypertension can also be managed with the use of anti-hypertensive medications prescribed by doctors, such as beta-blockers like nebivolol.

Beta-blockers work to slow down the heart rate and temporarily reduce the body’s natural fight-or-flight response.

“They help reduce stress on the heart and on the blood vessels in the brain, consequently lowering blood pressure,” says Dr. Dante Morales, clinical associate professor at the UP College of Medicine and former president of the Philippine Society of Hypertension. “This can help protect afflicted individuals against a heart attack and can improve the condition of those suffering from heart failure.”

To prove the safety and efficacy of hypertension management medications like beta-blocker nebivolol, Menarini conducted the Benefit Korea Study, involving nearly all patient profiles.

Menarini conducted a real-world data analysis of more than 3,200 patients in a real-world setting to determine if nebivolol is safe and effective in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive patients with various comorbidities and treatment environments in Korea.

The study revealed that even with various comorbidities and treatment environments, daily intake of 5mg of nebivolol significantly lowered patients’ blood pressure in just 12 weeks and 24 weeks.

“The study also confirmed that patients with concurrent medical conditions like dyslipidemia, obesity and diabetes tolerated the drug well even after daily intake,” notes Dr. Morales. “Lastly, it also demonstrated its efficacy by reducing blood pressure, whether as initial therapy, as an add-on, or as a switch from other anti-hypertensive medications.”

Such real-world data allows pharmaceutical companies like Menarini to monitor the performance and safety of its drug in the market, providing excellent results based on actual records.

The Benefit Korea study is one of the largest observational studies of beta-blockers for hypertension in Asia.

“Which is particularly important in light of increasing prevalence of hypertension and the rapid population aging in the region,” adds Dr. Morales.