New worry as Gadgets add to hypertension among youth  

BENGALURU: Young adults are facing the double burden of hypertension and gadget addiction in today’s tech era, and are at a higher risk of suffering from other non-communicable diseases also, according to doctors. 

“Three of 10 patients I see every day are young adults. Especially with excessive use of electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets, youngsters have developed a sedentary lifestyle with poor sleeping habits, all of which is contributing to hypertension,” said Dr Rajpal Singh, Director (of interventional cardiology), Fortis Hospital. 

Doctors say awareness must be raised about the potential health risks of gadget addiction, and to promote a balanced lifestyle among young adults. On World Hypertension Day on May 17, they explained that excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle and obesity are the major reasons contributing to rising cases of hypertension among youngsters.

Dr Brunda MS, Consultant (internal medicine), Aster CMI Hospital, said, “We see around 20 patients suffering from hypertension daily on an outpatient basis, of whom eight are young people.” Calling hypertension a “silent killer”, she said it is a major cause of several heart-related ailments, with 1.28 billion adults suffering from it worldwide. 

Lately, extensive use of technology has become a major contributing factor to hypertension. Dr HS Shashidhar, who started a rural digital detox centre in March at Gauribidanur in Karnataka, said cases of phone addiction were the most common at their centre, with 4-5 patients visiting daily for consultation. 
Hypertension is also known as high blood pressure and can affect people of all ages, especially youngsters. Doctors advise a healthy lifestyle by reducing the consumption of alcohol, and smoking, following an active lifestyle, ensuring regular hours of sleep and health checkups.