CREMONA – The World Hypertension Day. It was organized by the Hypertension Center and the Nephrology Unit of Asst Cremona in collaboration with UOSD Health Promotion and Network Development – ATS of the Po Valley, the Volunteers Association of Robecco d’Oglio and the students of the Nursing Course of the University of Brescia based in Cremona. The Open day took place at the Federico II Courtyard of the Town Hall of Cremona ed it was attended by about a hundred people, who were given a quick visit with blood pressure measurement. Each participant received guidance on how to calibrate the instruments and how to make a correct measurement at home. The ATS operators have provided advice for a correct lifestyle and useful indications to identify the right time to contact the family doctor or the specialist in arterial hypertension.
SARS-VOC-2 PANDEMIC AND BLOOD PRESSURE
“IS very important to be back to celebrate the day in presencetoday, in Italy and in the world », he says Rosario Ariano, Head of Outpatient Clinic for Diagnosis and Therapy of Arterial Hypertension, Cremona Hospital. “Due to health restrictions, in fact, the pandemic had as a secondary impact – by no means negligible – a delayed management of cardiovascular events. Furthermore, the infodemic, that is the circulation of an excessive amount of medical and scientific information often incorrect or misleading, has caused the spontaneous distancing of people from the prevention and treatment of socially relevant diseases such as arterial hypertension “.
“MEASURE AND CONTROL YOUR PRESSURE TO LIVE LONGER”
Every year in the world there are about 19 million deaths (280,000 in Italy) caused by damage from arterial hypertension (stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, renal failure). Much of these could be avoided, as well as reducing the impact of chronic disabilities and disorders caused by this disease. The slogan of the day “Measure and control your blood pressure to live longer“Calls for greater awareness, both in the population and in the healthcare environment. “To ensure that mortality and disability related to hypertension are significantly reduced – continues Ariano – it would be enough to reduce the 30 percent of hypertensive Italians who do not know they areensure that recommended blood pressure levels are maintained by even 30-40 percent of hypertensive people who fail to meet them, and that patients remembered to take their medications regularly (of 100 tablets of drug prescribed in Italy, patients take 60-70) “.
Ariano also points out the importance of an adequate lifestyle: exercise regularly, avoid excessive salt consumption, limit alcohol consumption, do not gain weight and reduce your body weight if excessive, do not smoke, avoid foods rich in animal fats, favoring fish and vegetables. It is essential to periodically and correctly measure blood pressure (also from home), consulting your doctor when it consistently exceeds 140/90 mmHg. In most cases, hypertension does not cause problems and the symptoms appear only after many years, when the damage has already occurred. A simple measurement can make us live longer and better.
A big thank you goes to UOSD Health Promotion and Network Development – ATS of the Po Valley, to the Volunteers Association of Robecco d’Oglio and to the students of the Nursing Course of the University of Brescia based in Cremona , hoping that on the occasion of the World Day against arterial hypertension of 2023, more comforting data can be recorded.