High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the leading
health concerns now a days, affecting not just adults but teenagers as well. Since
high blood pressure have seen no significant symptoms in the earlier stages, it is
often detected much later when it is difficult to reverse the condition. According
to a study done by Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio, for teenagers
suffering from high blood pressure, if the condition is uncontrolled, it can
lead to organ damage as in adults.
The findings showed that organ damage - damage to the heart
and blood vessels - from high blood pressure does not only occur in adults, but
also in teenagers. Importantly, the damage in teenagers occurs at blood
pressure levels that are below the clinical definition of hypertension in the
age group, the researchers said.
"Some adolescents may have organ damage related to
blood pressure and are not targeted for therapy," said Elaine M. Urbina,
Director at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio. "Imaging of the
heart may be useful in youth in the high-normal range of blood pressure to
determine how aggressive therapy should be."
High blood pressure in teenagers is defined on the basis of
percentiles, rather than blood pressure level as in adults. In the study,
presented at the 2017 American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Hypertension
in San Francisco, the team looked at whether organ damage in teens develops
below the 95th percentile - the clinical definition of high blood pressure in
teenagers.
The researchers examined blood pressure and measured organ
damage in 180 teenagers (14-17 years old, 64 per cent white, 57 per cent
males). The results showed evidence of organ damage even among the youth
categorised as "normal" with blood pressure less than in the 80th
percentile. It also revealed heart and vessel damage in the mid-risk group,
which had blood pressures in the 80th to 90th percentiles and the high-risk
group, with blood pressures above the 90th percentile.
One's lifestyle habits play a crucial role in the onset of
this deadly condition. Besides living an active life, a healthy diet is equally
as important, choosing the right kinds of foods and saying no to processed
foods and items with excessive salt content.
Here are certain foods that one must avoid to prevent risks
of high blood pressure -
- Processed meat products like bacon
- Hawker Chinese food
- Frozen food
- Canned sauces and beans
- Instant noodles
- Alcohol
- Red meat
- Pastries and doughnuts
