BHOPAL:
Hypertension disease burden is high in Madhya Pradesh and the Government is prioritising it as a public health issue, a media dialogue on hypertension management and elimination of trans fatty acids, was informed here today.
The Madhya Pradesh Government has screened over three million people for non-communicable diseases – hypertension, diabetes and cancer – in the past 45 days, of which 86 per cent have been put on treatment, said Dr Saloni Sidana, Addl. Director, National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh at the function that brought together media persons, policy makers, medical fraternity and the civil society here.
In this context, Dr Sidana said that follow up is an integral part of the screening part; those diagnosed with hypertension – a major NCD risk factor are put into treatment right from day one. The screening process has also brought to light the high level of prevalence and low level of awareness about NCDs in rural areas.
She highlighted a number of measures to strengthen screening including training of ASHA workers on use of non-invasive blood pressure machines.Dr Rajeev Gupta, Professor, Cardiology, Gandhi Medical College said that hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for death and disability in Madhya Pradesh.
Emphasising the importance of prevention and control of blood pressure, he talked about the need to monitor early morning rise of blood pressure, especially between 4 am and 9 am, which leads to a high number of cardiovascular events.
“Pre-hypertension among the younger population is a cause of concern,” he added.
DK Nagendra, Joint Controller, Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration spoke about how the enhancement of laboratory facilities including a microbiology lab will help the state achieve the status of being free from industrially produced trans fats by 2022. “The setting up of new labs in Gwalior, Indore and Jabalpur will enhance our testing capabilities,” he noted.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE said it is time the country took concerted efforts in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) REPLACE strategy to eliminate trans fats from the food system by 2022. The Delhi-based Consumer VOICE has been a leading force in spreading awareness about the health harms of trans fatty acids.
Paramjeet Singh, Director, Research, Consumer VOICE spoke about how the elimination of killer trans fats will be a milestone for good health.
Dr Ashish Saxena, Deputy Director, NCD; Dr RK Singh, Senior Cardiologist, Gandhi Medical College; Dr Gaurav Khandelwal, Assistant Professor, AIIMS, Bhopal and Mr DK Verma, Senior Food Safety Officer, Bhopal also spoke on the occasion.
More than 25 media persons from all the mainstream media houses of Bhopal were present in the half-day workshop in which videos by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; the WHO and the FSSAI were screened.
