The Week for Controlling and Combating High Blood Pressure begins in the Federal District.
On the 28th, lectures, educational activities, and workshops will take place; Brasília has 400 people with hypertension.
Agência Brasil – On the eve of the National Day for the Prevention and Control of Arterial Hypertension, celebrated on April 26, the Health Department of the Federal District (SES-DF) began yesterday (22), at the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc) center in Riacho Fundo 2, a city on the outskirts of Brasília, an awareness campaign with explanatory lectures, physical activities and a table displaying foods considered healthy.
The Week for Control and Combat of High Blood Pressure in the Federal District takes place until April 28th in all health centers and hospitals in Brasília, with the objective of informing the population about the risks of this disease, which is called silent by specialists because it is asymptomatic and many people only discover they have it when they go to have their blood pressure checked.
Throughout the week, lectures, educational actions and work activities will take place in health centers. Next Thursday (26), a team made up of health center employees will take a walk with a group of hypertensive patients, which will leave from Health Center 13, in Asa Norte (one of the neighborhoods of Plano Piloto in the DF), heading to Olhos D'água Park, in the same area. The idea is to draw the population's attention to the need for healthy lifestyle habits such as regular physical exercise and a balanced diet.
In Brasília alone, the number of people with hypertension reaches 400. Of this total, 50% are unaware they have the disease, according to the SES-DF (Health Secretariat of the Federal District). The coordinator of the Hypertension Program of the Federal District, Lucimir Henrique, said that the population needs to be more concerned about their health by going to the doctor regularly.
“Today, the issue of hypertension requires greater public awareness. Half of those with hypertension don't know they have it because they don't take the simple step of measuring their blood pressure at a health center. The government, concerned about the mortality rate in this group, has been implementing its main programs right at the primary health care level (the national health system defined by the World Health Organization),” explained the cardiologist.
According to Henrique, the life expectancy of Brazilians is reduced by 16 years due to a lack of awareness and information on how to lead a healthy life, even when the pace of work is demanding and nutrition takes a back seat.
The coordinator of Endocrinology at the Health Secretariat of the Federal District (DF), Lílian Assunção, said that high blood pressure is becoming an "epidemic" due to a lack of healthier habits. "The pace of daily life has led people to eat poorly, consuming fast food and becoming increasingly sedentary. This scenario needs to change as soon as possible," she warned.
The Ministry of Health (MS) informed Agência Brasil that it conducts an annual survey that monitors the growth and decline trends of chronic non-communicable diseases and their risk factors. Data from the Surveillance of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigitel) show that 23,3% of the Brazilian population reported having received a diagnosis of hypertension in 2010.
The ministry also highlighted that programs such as Health in Schools and Health Academies, popular places for physical activity, have helped to reduce and prevent these diseases in recent years.