Stakeholder Consultation on Priortizing heart health by eliminating risk factors
Raised blood pressure is among the most important risk factors for CVDs. Moreover, it remains poorly controlled due to low awareness about hypertension, lack of appropriate care through primary care and poor follow up. Keeping this in mind, Consumer VOICE organsied a stakeholder consultation on World Heart Day on the 29th of September in New Delhi on ‘Priortizing heart health by eliminating risk factors’.
Senior doctors like, Dr U Venkatesh, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine & Family Medicine, AIIMS Gorakhpur and Dr Srikanth Srinivasan Additional Professor in Community & Family Medicine, AIIMS Jodhpur and noted nutritionist and author Ms Kavita Devgan and CSO representatives emphasized on multi-stakeholder action to reduce morbidity and death from hypertension especially among the youth.
More than 50 students from reputed colleges and institutes like Lady Irwin College, Delhi, Dr B R Ambedkar and Prakash Institute, Greater Noida participated in this engaging workshop.
The session started with a brief introduction by Nilanjana Bose, Project Head, Food and Nutrition followed by a presentation on the risk factors of hypertension by Consumer VOICE CEO, Mr Ashim Sanyal. He stressed that ”As a consumer rights organization we have made it our mission to sensitize the youth and others as well and spread awareness and ensure that more and more people are screening their BP regularly and adhere to the treatment if diagnosed and avert mortality or morbidity.”
Addressing a large number of youth, comprising mainly from the public health, nutrition and nursing background present in the gathering, Dr Srinivasan said that “We have to start screening our young population early in life as stress level is the highest among todays youth. Other risk factors like smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity and those who lead unhealthy lifestyles are at a higher risk of developing hypertension. Regular monitoring of BP and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are key to keep hypertension under control.” He also used multiple images to stress on the importance of having a healthy diet among the students present in the session.
Dr U Venkatesh, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine & Family Medicine, AIIMS Gorakhpur said that “If patients with hypertension can get timely interventions and have access to continuous supply of medicines, then their blood pressure is likely to be under control and adverse consequences can be averted. Regular screening and follow-up for those at risk of hypertension can help people manage hypertension better.” He also stressed that to improve India’s healthcare system primary field-level frontline workers, and community health workers and ASHAs and ANMs are crucial for delivering high quality community based services especially for hypertension and other non-communicable diseases at the grass-root level.
“India faces a rapidly escalating burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly the rising incidence of lifestyle related diseases such as diabetes, obesity among adults as well as an alarming increase in childhood obesity,” said Kavita Devgan while interacting with the students. “The youth should be sensitized on the risk factors and the foods that they should avoid and foods that should be included in their diet to prevent hypertension, “she added.
All present at the session took a pledge to control high BP and generate awareness, and also agreed to be part of India’s effort to help the government achieve the mammoth task of 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of hypertension or raised blood pressure by 2025.IEC materials which included an informative book on hypertension, folder, book mark and calendar were also distributed among the students.
नयी दिल्ली, 02 अक्टूबर (वार्ता) एम्स जोधपुर के कम्युनिटी एंड फैमिली मेडिसिन में प्रोफेसर डॉ. श्रीकांत श्रीनिवासन ने कहा कि युवा पीढ़ी को स्वास्थ्य के प्रति सजग रहना जरूरी है और समय-समय पर जांच कराना भी आवश्यक है, क्योंकि आज के युवाओं में तनाव का स्तर सबसे अधिक है।
Workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension in Lucknow
Consumer VOICE in collaboration with its partner, Consumer Guild organized a workshop on ‘Rising Burden of NCDs and Prevention and Care of Hypertension’ in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on the 23rd of September. The main objective of the workshop was creating awareness among the people on the health risks of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension (HTN) which is a major risk factor and also to seek opinion and participation of various stakeholders.
While inaugurating the event, Abhishek Srivastava, Chairman, Consumer Guildhighlighted the importance of creating awareness among people about the NCDs and Hypertension. He informed that Consumer Guild Lucknow and Consumer VOICE are working together in the state of Uttar Pradesh to increase awareness on NCDs and Prevention and care of Hypertension. He also thanked the CMO office and NCD Cell including doctors and health workers, officials from Government Hospitals, Primary Health Centers and Community Health centers for their support and participation in the workshop.
Ms Nilanjana Bose, Project Head, Food & Nutrition, Consumer VOICE made a detail presentation highlighting prevalence of NCDs and HTN in India. Talking about how timely intervention can save patients from serious hypertension problems like stroke and organ damage, she said that most Indians are not aware that they are suffering from hypertension. She raised concern about the lowest screening of hypertensive individuals and said that strengthening primary healthcare will not only reduce mortality but also significantly reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care and its related costs.
She informed that only 7% women, 6% men who have hypertension take medicine in India according to NFHS (5) 12% per cent of women and 9 per cent of men say that on two or more occasions they were told by a doctor or health professional that they have hypertension or high blood pressure . Technology enabled frontline health workers, like ASHAs and ANMs, can be very effective in early detection and long-term management of hypertension.
Dr. Abhinav Kedia , Cardiovascular Health officer, WHO, Uttar Pradesh shared WHO’s Global report on Hypertension 2023. He stressed that 46 Lakh deaths can be averted if hypertension can becontrolled. NCDs account for 63% of deaths of which cardiovascular diseases lead with 27% overall mortality. All people above 30 years should get their blood pressure checked at least once in year.
Dr. Rajnigandha , Balrampur Government Hospital- spoke about the behavioral changes due to hypertension which requires counselling.
Workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension in Guwahati
It is estimated that one in every four adults in India has hypertension and the situation is no different in Assam. The prevalence of hypertension is found to be high in Assam, while the awareness is quite low especially in rural Assam.
These alarming facts are came to light in a workshop on rising burden of NCDs & prevention and care of Hypertension organized by Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum (CLPF) with the support of Consumer VOICE, New Delhi on 30th August, 2023 at Hotel Riviera, Guwahati.
In his inaugural speech, Dr. Nakul Shyam, Additional Director of Health Services, Govt. of Assam said that regular screening has been prioritized by the state government and which has helped us to identify areas especially rural areas where there is high prevalence of hypertensive individuals with low level of awareness. It is important to strengthen the screening process and include ASHA workers and health care workers proactively.
In the workshop, Dr. Rahul K. Sharma, State Programme Officer – NCD, National Health Mission spoke on ‘NCD control in Assam with specific reference to hypertension’; Dr. Mousumi Krishnatreya, Associate Professor, Community Medicine, Gauhati Medical College shared a wonderful presentation on ‘Treatment adherence – Key to Hyperbaton Management’. Dr. Jitumoni Kalita, Cardiologist, Down Town Hospital, Guwahati highlighted the importance on ‘Hypertension management to reducing strokes and heart attacks’ and Dr. Hrisikesh Sarma, Karyakarta, National Medicos Organisation spoke on role of primary health care centres in prevention and control of NCDs and hypertension.
All experts stressed on early detection and treatment of hypertension and making lifestyle modifications to control blood pressure. Most Indians are not aware that they are suffering from hypertension. This leads to increased cases of stroke and cardiac arrest. As a result even young adults in India are falling prey to serious cardiovascular diseases.
Moderating the workshop, Advocate Ajoy Hazarika, Secretary, Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam informed that as per the recent National Family Health Survey 5, prevalence of hypertension among women in rural areas is 20.2 per cent and 22.7 per cent among men. Nineteen percent of women age 15-49 in Assam have hypertension. 20 percent of men in Assam have hypertension. “So it is not a case only of the urban areas but also of the rural areas of Assam, “ says Ajoy Hazarika.
Nilanjana Bose, Project Lead Consumer VOICE said that according to the WHO, nearly 27 per cent of deaths in India are attributed to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) which affect close to 45 per cent people in the 40-69 age group. High blood pressure is among the most important risk factors for CVDs. Besides, there is low awareness about hypertension, lack of appropriate care through primary care, besides poor follow-up.
The workshop was attended by more than 100 participants including the representatives of Senior Citizen and Women organizations, Consumer Groups, Officials of Health Departments, Govt. of Assam, youth, students and faculties from different educational institutions, media, CSOs and social activists.
Guwahati: The Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum (CLPF) held a workshop to discuss the growing issue of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and ways to prevent and manage hypertension. The event took place at Hotel Riviera in Guwahati.
Workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension in Ahmedabad
Consumer VOICE in collaboration with its state partner Rajkot Saher Jilla Grahak Suraksha Mandal, Gujarat, organized a workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension on 15th July at the Conference Hall, Government Circuit House, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The objective of the workshop was creating awareness among the people about the health – risks of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension (HTN) which is a major risk factor.
While talking about the rising cases of NCDs especially that of hypertension in the state, Ms. Darshaben Vaghela, Hon’ble M.L.A., Ahmedabad, Gujarat in his inaugural address spoke about the importance of community health workers as an attractive strategy for hypertension management. “To achieve the government’s goal of placing 75 million on Standard Care by 2025 it is important to fast track access to treatment services by strengthening interventions at the grass-root level.”
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Admitting that screening and follow-up is crucial for reducing hypertension in the state, Mr. Niteshbhai Shah, Hon’ble State Nodal officer of NCD, Gandhinagar raised the alarming situation of hypertension in the state. “The rise was significant in both slightly above normal and moderately high categories for both urban and rural women. Among urban females the above normal hypertension in NFHS5 was 11.4% which rose from 8.2% from the previous survey while in rural women it rose from 6.7% to 12%.
Dr Bhavinbhai Solanki, Hon’ble Chief Medical Officer, Ahmedabad emphasized on the importance of regular screening to prevent mortality due to hypertension. “Regular screening at the PHCs has been prioritized by the state government and which has helped us to identify areas especially rural areas where there is high prevalence of hypertensive individuals with low level of awareness. It is important to strengthen the screening process and include ASHA workers and health care workers proactively.”
Mr. Ashim Sanyal, Hon’ble COO, Consumer VOICE made a detailed presentation highlighting prevalence of NCDs and HTN in India. Talking about how timely intervention can save patients from serious hypertension problems like stroke and organ damage, he said that “most Indians are not aware that they are suffering from hypertension.” He raised concern about the lowest screening of hypertensive individuals in Madhya Pradesh and said that strengthening primary healthcare will not only reduce mortality but also significantly reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care and its related costs.”
Dr. Pinaben V Soni, Hon’ble Chief District Medical officer and civil surgeon revealed “that screening of hypertensive individuals is crucial to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension.” Stressing on the importance of India’s frontline primary care in rural and semi-urban areas, she said that “primary health care centres in Gujarat support the efforts of the government through uninterrupted supply and availability of hypertension protocol medicines and helps in scaling up hypertension control in the state.”
Applauding the initiatives taken by the state government to reduce NCD burden, Dr. Sukumar Mehta, Hon’ble Cardiologist, Streeling Hospital, Ahmedabad said that “the initiatives need to be focused on the most excluded, and hard-to-reach rural population to expand comprehensive healthcare services at the community and household level.”
The steep increase in NCDs is aggravated by lifestyle choices of people such as diet, physical activity, stress levels. Ramjibhai Mavani of Rajkot Saher Jilla Grahak Suraksha Mandal, emphasized on the need for lifestyle modifications to curb hypertension. ”Along with monitoring of blood pressure regularly and taking BP pills regularly, one should also quit smoking, avoid alcohol and lead a healthy life,” he stressed.
Talking about how timely intervention can save patients from serious hypertension problems like stroke and organ damage, Dr. Rashmiben Sharma, Hon’ble Associates Professor, GMERS, Sola Ahmedabad revealed that “most Indians are not aware that they are suffering from hypertension. Many Gujaratis are suffering from hypertension and the reasons could be stress and food habits and lack of exercise. More younger patients are also reporting with high blood pressure”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 27 per cent of deaths in India are attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD) which affects close to 45 per cent people in the 40-69 age group. High blood pressure is among the most important risk factors for CVDs. Besides, there is low awareness about hypertension, lack of appropriate care through primary care, besides poor follow-up.
Workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension in Bhopal
Consumer VOICE in collaboration with its state partner, National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment, Bhopal organized a workshop on Rising Burden of NCDs & Prevention and Care of Hypertension on 28th of June in the Conference Hall, EPCO, Bhopal.
The ‘Workshop was organized in Bhopal with the objective of creating awareness among the people about the health – risks of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension (HTN) which is a major risk factor.
Dr Pradip Nandi, Director General, NCHSE in his welcome address highlighted the importance of creating awareness among people about the NCDs and HTN.
Mr. Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE made a detailed presentation highlighting prevalence of NCDs and HTN in India. Talking about how timely intervention can save patients from serious hypertension problems like stroke and organ damage, he said that “most Indians are not aware that they are suffering from hypertension.” He raised concern about the lowest screening of hypertensive individuals in Madhya Pradesh and said that strengthening primary healthcare will not only reduce mortality but also significantly reduce the need for secondary and tertiary care and its related costs. He also stressed that “as a consumer rights organization we made it our mission to work with people, spread awareness and ensure that more and more people are screening their BP regularly and if diagnosed as hypertension, staying on treatment.”
Dr. Prabhakar Tiwari, CMHO, Bhopal said the “hypertension is prevalent equally in urban and rural India and that screening of hypertensive individuals is crucial since early detection and treatment could prevent morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension.” He also emphasized the need for lifestyle modifications to curb hypertension. He appraised the participants about the medical infrastructure and services being made available by the government for the screening and treatment of patients suffering from NCDs including HTN.
Dr Abhishek Goyal, Professor and Head Department of Pulmonary Medicine, AIIMS Bhopal said that obstruction in breathing during sleep called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a serious disorder. The patients with severe OSA have an increased risk of hypertension, heart attack, heart failure and strokes. He further said that Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Therapy along with life style modification is the most effective treatment for OSA and hypertension.
Experience Sharing:
Mrs Prem Bai, one of the patient suffering from acute sleep apnea and Hypertension, narrated her story about her recovery from the jaws of death through treatment at AIIMS, Bhopal. During her interaction with Mr Ashim Sanyal, it was revealed that she was overweight and was suffering from and HTN and OSA. She was admitted at AIIMS when she became unconscious. She was in ICU with little hope of survival. But with proper treatment at AIIMs she recovered. She is on controlled diet and uses CPAP equipment during sleep. However, on the question of taking regular medicine post recovery as prescribed by the doctor, she admitted that she discontinued taking medicine without consultation with the doctor.
When Mr Sanyal asked about the discontinuation of medicine by Mrs Prem Bai, Dr. Priti of AIIMS, her physician admitted that it is not correct. She should continue with medicine as suggested by them.
Shri Avinash Srivastava of NCHSE conducted the programme and gave vote of thanks.
There was lively discussion of the experts with the enlightened participants, who raised various questions which was answered by the experts. The participants appreciated the programme and the resource materials provided to them. The event was widely covered in the print media. Queries are pouring in from the person who could not attend the event about the next event.
Additional Activity:
The Office of CMHO had arranged a health checkup camp for blood pressure and blood sugar level for participants and others at the venue. Medicines were also distributed free of cost to the patients.
Stakeholder Consultation on Hypertension Control and Prevention in India
With the rising prevalence of Non-communicable (NCDs) in India and hypertension being an important risk factor, it was important to prioritise it and place suitable recommendations in front of our policy makers.
Keeping this in mind Consumer VOICE planned for a series of dialogues with various stakeholders including doctors, experts, policy makers and CSOs at the central level to be followed up in different states. The first event was event therefore was held in New Delhi at the Constitution Club of India on May 29th from11 am onwards.
Objectives:
A series of community dialogues to prioritize NCDs and HTN as a public health concern
Create awareness and raise political will of policy makers
Seek opinion and participation of stakeholders
Spread the message of hypertension prevention and control among consumers
The event witnessed a close participation of select but a quality gathering of experts and policy makers. Dr Aparna Jaswal, Director, Fortis Escorts in her wonderful presentation spoke about the importance to keeping heart healthy from the very young. She spoke about why and how young adults fall prey to stroke and cardiac arrest and heart attack and the signs one should look for. Her interactive presentation also highlighted when people without any previous record of heart ailment still collapse and how they can be saved. She proposed that awareness programs should start from the very young age of 18 years, and government should think of introducing teaching CPR at community centres and colleges.
Dr Yogesh Bahurupi, Associate Professor, Dept of Family and Community Medicine AIIMS, Rishikesh highlighted the importance of Data Science Transformation and Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation. He stressed on the focus of prevention which if done systematically can prevent hundreds of lives. Artificial intelligence is the way forward for patients in remote areas where a doctor sitting kilometres away can still analyse the irregular heartbeats of a remote patient.
Videos
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Patient Voices on hypertension treatment and management
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Event highlight of stakeholder consultation on hypertension prevention and control in India
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Hon'ble MP Shri Sujeet Kumar on hypertension prevention and control
Dr Archisman Mohapatra, Executive Director, GRID Council in his presentation emphasised the role of community health workers and primary healthcare centres. If community health services can be strengthened then the burden at the district hospitals is greatly reduced. While talking of the global scenario of NCDs, he spoke about the number of people being left untreated because it is not diagnosed. He also highlighted that hypertension is now no longer a disease of the urban middle or higher class but has penetrated deep into the rural sector. Significant proportion of hypertensives in India are either untreated or under-treated and this is attributed to lack of consistent access to anti-hypertensive medication.
Representing the CSOs, Mr Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE spoke about the socio-economic burden that hypertension has accounts for. Treating NCD is on priority but it has to be strongly supplemented with population-based services aimed at health promotion and action on social determinants of health along with individual services. He proposed for a multi-sectoral action addressing the social determinants and strengthening of health systems for universal coverage to population and individual services is required. Promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level is needed.
The event also witnessed meaningful participation from several policy makers, some through their video message or online and some being present physically. Through a video message, BJD MP Shri Sujeet Kumar applauded the efforts of Consumer VOICE for holding the stakeholder consultation on hypertension prevention and control in India. He spoke about the high mortality rates in India and rising prevalence of NCDs in India and also in his home state of Odisha. To achieve the goal of reducing mortality rate in India due to NCDs, one must stress on the importance of primary healthcare centers. He emphasized the importance of strengthening primary and community health care centers in India and also urged consumers to make lifestyle changes. Promised his full support to our project goals through his office
It was an honor to have Lt.Gen.(Retd) Dr. DP Vats from BJP physically present in the occasion. Acknowledging the role of community health workers, Dr. DP Vats said that to improve India’s healthcare system primary field-level frontline workers, community health workers and nurses are crucial for delivering high quality community-based services especially for hypertension and other non-communicable diseases. He pledged his support and asked for his intervention areas.
Dr Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, BJP MP who joined the consultation through zoom appreciated the work of Consumer VOICE in all spheres. While talking about the efforts that Consumer VOICE was putting in for generating awareness among consumers to measure and monitor their blood pressure regularly, he also stressed on the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. He stressed on the need for all stakeholders to work together to uphold the progress of SDGs.
IEC materials were also distributed in the event and also a video on patient voices was shown in the workshop. Several patients from different states were captured in the video.
