Imagine riding in your car on a warm mid-summer’s day along the beautiful, flowing desert landscape on the outskirts of Doha when suddenly, out of nowhere, you hear a loud, piercing burst. You begin to panic and almost lose control of the car. Thanks to Allah, you are somehow able to safely bring your car to a complete stop right at the edge of the same flowing body of desert sand you were just admiring.
What happened? Hint: Air in extremely hot tyre can expand under pressure with the sort of temperature that exists in the desert. After taking a moment to gather your senses, you discover you’d mistakenly put too much air in one of your tyres, and even though you had no previous warnings - no signs whatsoever - the tyre kept expanding under so much pressure until it literally exploded.
Just as excessively high air pressure in your tyre can cause major havoc, the same holds true for your blood pressure. The amount of force exerted by the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries that carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body is known as blood pressure.
Although it is normal for blood pressure to rise and fall throughout the day, if this force is too high over a prolonged period of time, it can lead to serious problems. Blood pressure is measured in “millimetres of mercury” and is abbreviated as “mmHg.” Typically, if your reading is greater than 140/90 mmHg, then you have what is known as high blood pressure or hypertension.
Hypertension is a very serious health concern that cuts across cultures, nationalities, religions and social levels - putting you at greater risk for other health problems including heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
The World Health Organisation has estimated that hypertension affects over 1bn people worldwide and dangerous levels of high blood pressure account for the death of around 9mn people each year. Because there are oftentimes no signs or symptoms, many people who have hypertension do not even know it. This is precisely why hypertension is commonly called the “silent killer”.
This silent killer has also hugely affected the State of Qatar. Research data show that 32.9% of Qataris suffer from hypertension, and one third of these individuals have ignored their diagnosis (Qatar Foundation, 2014), which is quite alarming.
So, how can we “silence” this silent killer? The good news: You can take steps to stop hypertension even before it starts, through simple lifestyle changes like limiting how much salt you eat to less than 5g of salt per day, getting daily physical activity, stopping smoking and decreasing stress in your life.
On the other hand even if you already have hypertension, you still can take steps to control it: Adopt the same healthy behaviours already stated above; try to monitor your blood pressure at home, if you can; follow medical advice and be sure to take prescribed medication as advised by your doctor.
There is only one way to truly know if you have hypertension: Have a doctor or other health professional measure it. This is an important step towards silencing this silent killer once and for all. Stay well!

- Dr Kendra Guildford is a faculty member of the College of Medicine at Qatar University.