Abstract

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE-A SILENT KILLER

Dr. Garima Pundir*

Abstract

The term high blood pressure is very familiar to both educated and uneducated people in today's scenario, however the understanding of the term came from the work of physician William Harvey (1578-1657) who described the circulation of blood in "De motu cordis". It is one of the most common problem that is faced globally by the people of different ages irrespective of gender differences. Some people with high blood pressure ignore the problem or think it can‟t hurt them. Blood pressure has two measurements. The first, called systolic pressure, is the pressure of the blood against an artery when the heart muscle contracts. The second measurement, called diastolic pressure, is pressure of the blood against the artery when heart muscle is relaxing. Hypertension accounts as a major public health challenge not only in India but on Global level. It is one of the most common cardiovascular risk factor because many people do not know they have it and can‟t get proper treatment.

Keywords: High blood pressure, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure.