Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine) Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said that if hypertension (high blood pressure) is not intervened, permanent damage to the eyes, heart, kidney and brain may occur.
Hypertension, which is seen in 1 out of every 3 adults over the age of 18 and 1 out of every 2 adults over the age of 50 in Turkey, draws attention as a public health problem. Internal Medicine Specialist Assoc. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen, one of the Medicana Health Group Doctors, pointed out that hypertension is a chronic disease that requires a lifelong struggle and made important warnings that will improve the quality of life.
Emphasizing that patients should control salt and weight even before coming to the doctor, Medicana International Samsun Hospital Internal Medicine Specialist Assoc. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said, “Hypertension is a serious public health problem for us. It is also a global burden for the world. Two separate guidelines on hypertension have been published recently. Of these, hypertension is a disease that requires follow-up under the control of a physician because it is a disease that does not give symptoms in the early stages. Lifestyle change is of utmost importance for hypertension management. Salt restriction and weight control are lifestyle changes that strengthen our hand for hypertension management. We recommend that our patients start salt restriction even before they come to us and ensure weight control by restricting calories. We also support this with medical treatment.”
“1 in every 3 people over the age of 18 and 1 in every 2 people over the age of 50 have hypertension”
Stating that although the risk of hypertension is high in some occupational groups, high blood pressure increases with age, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said, “Hypertension is a disease whose frequency increases with stress. We see that it is more common in more stressful occupational groups. We observe that the frequency of hypertension increases not by profession, but by age. Currently, the prevalence of hypertension in adults over the age of 18 is between 30-35 percent in Turkey. This means that one out of every 3 adults in Turkey has hypertension. One out of every 2 adults over the age of 50 has hypertension. We expect hypertension to be slightly higher in some stressful occupational groups, but hypertension is a global burden for the whole society.”
“It targets end organs such as the eye, heart, kidney and brain”
Stating that hypertension can cause permanent damage to end organs if necessary intervention is not taken, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Düriye Sıla Karagöz Özen said, “High blood pressure causes end organ damage. Hypertension-related organ damage can occur in the eye, brain, kidney and heart. It can cause visual impairment and permanent blindness in the eye, stroke due to vascular occlusion in the brain, wall thickening in the heart, and kidney failure in the kidney. The earlier we start to control blood pressure, the earlier we can prevent end-organ damage. Studies have shown that in patients with hypertension who have not been diagnosed for a long time, the risk can be permanent even if blood pressure is reduced to normal after a while. For this reason, we first recommend new habits such as lifestyle changes, i.e. quitting smoking, reducing daily salt consumption to less than 5 grams, eating a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in vegetables and fruits, whole grains, seeds, reduced-fat dairy products and unsaturated fat products. In addition, we recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week. This can include swimming, walking, Zumba, cycling and tennis. These can be divided into 3 days. We recommend stopping the use of alcohol. These lifestyle changes are more important than anything else.”
