Avoid Risk Factors
At the same event, dr. Eka Harmeiwaty, Sp.S, Vice Chairwoman of the InaSH, declares that hypertension can obstruct the brain’s cognitive function. In the long term, the neurologist from the National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita, Jakarta stated that it may trigger complications such as dementia or stroke.
“Remember, hypertension is preventable. Even though it will be hard for you to modify your genetic and age risk factors, you can avoid the others. Again we remind you to maintain a healthy lifestyle from your youth: never consume more than 5 grams of salt a day, avoid processed foods, get sufficient rest, do physical exercises regularly, and stop smoking. Pregnant mothers suffering from hypertension must be extra careful, because their baby may be born with low birth weight or be premature. When they grow up, such babies have a higher risk of hypertension in turn, because their endothelium does not function or develop normally,” she said.
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Meanwhile, InaSH General Secretary dr. Djoko Wibisono, Sp.PD-KGH further explained that uncontrolled, badly handled hypertension may result in early death, due to organ damage (Hypertension-Mediated Organ Damage). “One of the direct effects is when HMOD hits the kidneys and results in chronic kidney damage. This may then demand hemodialysis, which often doesn’t work for long and end up with terminal kidney failure and death. When preventing complications, the drug cannot work alone – the patient’s cooperation and discipline are also required. Before you suffer from HMOD, please change your lifestyle into a healthy one and perform your pharmacological therapy diligently. This means regular consumption of your medication, according to a doctor’s instructions, and get laboratory checks to ensure that you detect complications early,” he added. (Est)