World Hypertension Day 2023: Date, history and significance of the day | Health

World Hypertension Day 2023: Hypertension is a condition when the force of the blood against the artery walls is more than it should be. This further causes high blood pressure. Some of the main causes of Hypertension are poor lifestyle choices, poor dietary choices and a lifestyle that doesn’t involve much workouts. However, Hypertension, when not addressed in time, can lead to the risk of having heart diseases or stroke. Hence, to create awareness and make people understand the seriousness of the condition, World Hypertension Day is observed every year, all across the world. Often the lack of appropriate knowledge among hypertension patients leads to more seriousness of the condition. World Hypertension Day aims to curb the same.

As we gear up to observe the day and create better awareness about the condition, here are a few things we need to keep in mind:

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Date:

Every year, May 17 is observed as World Hypertension Day. This year, too, it will be observed on the same date.

History:

World Hypertension League is an umbrella of organisations from 85 countries dealing with hypertension societies and leagues. World Hypertension League introduced World Hypertension Day on May 14, in the year 2005. From 2006, World Hypertension Day has been observed on May 17.

Significance:

For this year, the theme of World Hypertension Day is Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer. The low awareness of Hypertension among people creates the space for the condition to get more serious. When Hypertension is regularly measured and kept under check, the risk of other chronic illnesses also reduces significantly. Some of the symptoms of high blood pressure include headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and difficulty in breathing. This day helps in promoting public awareness about hypertension, and seek for treatment methods to overcome it. World Hypertension Day also helps in creating awareness about the healthy lifestyle choices that we can adapt to avoid hypertension.