Bangkok – Thailand has launched a new campaign to raise public awareness of hypertension, in celebration of World Hypertension Day last week.
According to Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. Kajohnsak Kaewjarus, the campaign aims to encourage risk groups, namely people aged above 35 whose families suffer hypertension and those who are obese, to pay attention to their blood pressure so as to prevent and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The move is expected to reduce the number of hypertension patients, which has surged from 3.9 million to over 5.5 million over the past five years. Unhealthy lifestyles, such as excessive consumption of sodium-rich and deep-fried foods, smoking and drinking as well as a lack of physical activity may lead to hypertension.
The World Hypertension League (WHL) designated May 17 as World Hypertension Day. The theme of this year’s World Hypertension Day was “Know Your Numbers.” The goal is to increase awareness of high blood pressure (BP) in all populations around the world.
 |
 |
