Post-Covid: Rise in high BP cases among youths

HYDERABAD: On the eve of World Hypertension Day on May 17, doctors say they have seen a substantial rise in hypertension cases since Covid, especially among younger people, as working from home has led to a rise in sedentary lifestyles.

The condition, commonly referred to as high blood pressure, involves blood beating against the artery walls at a pressure that is higher than usual.

Consultant cardiologist at KIMS Hospital Dr Sadiq Azam said that post-Covid, the hospital was now receiving up to four young hypertension patients every month, in contrast to just one every two to three
months earlier.

“We are noticing a substantial number of people in their early 30s suffering from hypertension without any secondary cause. This trend has increased after Covid because many of them stayed at home, put on weight, did not exercise, ate junk given the easy access to food delivery platforms,” Dr Azam said.

He added that the condition was also being seen in people with obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder in which the patient’s breathing becomes irregular while sleeping.

Obese people are more at risk. It could lead to hypertension.

Consultant physician at Yashoda Hospitals Dr K. Seshi Kiran said that the actual figures of hypertension could be 10-15 per cent more than those projected.

The latest findings of National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) – 5
reveal that 31.4 per cent of males and 26.1 per cent females in Telangana suffer from this health hazard.

Dr Kiran said that while hypertension was found to be one of the common comorbidities associated with Covid and almost 35 per cent of patients with Covid were found to have hypertension, no direct
increase in hypertension had been found after Covid.