IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO SYSTEMIC HYPERTENSION IN A SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRY

Susanna Baettig and Muhammad Shakir*

ABSTRACT

Hypertension is one of the major global health problem, Pakistan is not an exception for this disease. Various causative and contribute factors for hypertension have been established and research is going on to assess many newer suspected factors. It has been a myth that that hypertension affects mostly elderly individuals and only in cities. Epidemiological studies reveal that hypertension is not confined to adults or urban but children too are sufferers. Rural population is also affected just like their urban counterparts. In order to reduce the health and economic burden of hypertension, early detection of risk factors is essential. For this we need to know what risk factors are prevalent in Pakistan so as to target them at the earliest stage. In this review we have attempted to identify the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of hypertension found abundantly in Pakistan.

Keywords: Hypertension, Pakistan, Obesity, Urbanization, Epidemiology.