World Health Day 2013

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha

Sunday was World Health Day! Every year World Health Day is celebrated to mark the anniversary of the World Health Organisation in 1948. And every year, a specific area of public health is highlighted as the theme for World Health Day.
This year, the theme was high blood pressure.  And high blood pressure is a massive problem, including in Guyana – even more so because high blood pressure rarely causes symptoms in the early stages and many people remain undiagnosed. It’s known as “The Silent Killer” with good reason.

Having consistently high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. This is why it’s important to test regularly to be aware of your blood pressure. It is important to know what steps you need to take to get your blood pressure under control before other complications arise as a result of your high blood pressure.
My great grandmother passed away this past week – and she lived to be 102! Yes, 102 – and she observed most of what I tell you below.
Some of the ways people can reduce their blood pressure are relatively simple and straightforward.  Reducing your salt intake is one way to reduce your blood pressure. By just monitoring the amount of salt you use in your meals, avoiding certain high-salt snacks, you can take a positive step forward in controlling your blood pressure.
Other risk-factors contributing to high blood pressure are the harmful use of alcohol and tobacco smoking. Those habits are hard to kick for those already addicted to the nicotine, or for alcoholics, but hopefully the thought of dying prematurely due to a heart attack will be sobering enough for them to seek the medical help they need.
Another risk factor that could lead to high blood pressure is one which is probably one of the easiest to control – physical inactivity and lack of exercise. My great grandmother was always in the garden into her late nineties. There wasn’t a day she didn’t exercise.
With the advances in technology, it’s so easy to just sit around at home, not having to leave home that much.
Need to research something? Just Google it – no need to walk to a library. Want to look at a movie? Just stream it online – no need to go to the video store to buy a DVD.
Need to find out about someone’s health? Just ask them on Facebook, or call them – no need to actually visit them. Oh they’re in the hospital? Don’t worry; someone must have already posted a picture of them somewhere online – #hospitalbeds, #salinebags.
We live in a world where everything is literally at our fingertips and we’ve gotten lazy. So lazy in fact, that our ‘physical inactivity’ is now one of the main risk factors for high blood pressure.
Our laziness is literally KILLING us.
So get up. Get out there. Shake a leg. Break a leg. No not really. Or go ahead and break your leg. One of your friends will manage to get a couple of Facebook likes off of a picture of your cast. Just kidding.
On a serious note, don’t wait until it’s too late to get active. Jog a little. Do yoga. Do gardening. Do something. Don’t let “The Silent Killer” creep up on you. And you might make it to 102!