High blood pressure diseases increasing in Macau: Gov’t

In light of World Hypertension Day, celebrated yesterday, the Health Bureau (SSM) revealed that high blood pressure diseases were rising in Macau, when considering that more than 94,000 people suffered from high blood pressure in 2021, an increase of 0.6% over 2020 figures.

Among the top 10 causes of death in Macau in 2021, high blood pressure diseases and pneumonia tied for second place, just behind malignant tumors, according to the SSM.

Hypertensive patients also have become younger in recent years according to Choi Chong Po, convener of the Cardiovascular Disease Working Group of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Committee, as cited in a TDM report.

“This can be explained by changes in lifestyle and diet, long-term stress or emotional tension,” Choi said. “That is why maintaining a cheerful mood and cultivating a healthy lifestyle can help prevent an increase in blood pressure,” he added.

“People aged 60 or above and patients with other chronic diseases should measure their blood pressure at least once a year,” a cardiologist at the public hospital, Lao Pak Kao, said. The cardiologist further advised that if blood pressure readings were still high following lifestyle adjustments, a consultation with doctors for antihypertensive drugs could be necessary to reduce complications associated with hypertension.

Staff Reporter