The modern age with all its technological advancements has certainly helped mankind progress in leaps and bounds but the associated changes in lifestyle have led to increasing susceptibility for certain lifestyle diseases. In the contemporary age, it is no longer that one suffers from health issues after only a certain age, it can happen any time, just like Hypertension.

Hypertension is a condition where the blood vessels tend to get stiff or hard thus leading to increased pressure of blood in the arteries, the heart bears the maximum brunt of this as this is the pressure against which it has to work. There are many causes that can be linked to hypertension. One of them is advancing age and so it is safe to say that as people age, they are bound to have some level of hypertension.

Dr. Vaibhav Mishra, Director & Head – CTVS, Cardiac Surgery (CTVS), Cardiac Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, says, “Young age was traditionally assumed to be immune to hypertension. Because the blood vessels are flexible and elastic, however, we cannot assume this in today’s world. There are a number of lifestyle changes which have been incorporated into our daily life making the youth more vulnerable to developing hypertension.”

He also points out, “The modern lifestyle with all its stress, lack of sleep finding no time for exercise too much fast food and junk food and too much stress are there for all likely to increase the incidence of hypertension in today’s.”

Dr Bharesh Dedhia, Chief, Department of Critical Care, P D Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Khar, states, “One of the main causes of HTN (Hypertension) is an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. Many studies have demonstrated the relationship between blood pressure levels in young adults and dietary and lifestyle factors, including excessive salt intake, high fat intake, obesity, physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour, and insufficient sleep duration.”

“Additional factors include smoking, chewing tobacco, and drinking alcohol. These factors may also contribute to other metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and inflammation, which can further aggravate HTN and its consequences. Children who have a high birth weight from birth to childhood have a greater risk of developing elevated blood pressure in childhood and youth life, but those who had a high birth weight but changed to a normal weight in youth do not have an elevated risk,” he further added.