Hypertension is turning into a silent killer in Nepal. It’s high time everyone was alert

Hypertension is defined as the force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the body’s arteries. It is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. This condition is known as hypertension.

Blood pressure is written as two numbers. The first (systolic) number represents the pressure in blood vessels when the heart contracts or beats whereas the second (diastolic) number represents the pressure in the vessels when the heart rests between the two consecutive beats. Hypertension or high blood pressure occurs when the blood pressure is measured on two different days, the systolic blood pressure readings on both days are≥140 mmHg and/or the diastolic blood pressure readings on both days are≥90 mmHg.