Dhananjay Kumar

New Delhi: High Blood pressure (Hypertension) is making mayhem in India. It has become the biggest single contributing risk factor to death and the burden of disease in the country.

India being part of an initiative, named MMM (May Measurement Month), to globally measure this epidemic, the country would know the enormity of this killer condition in tangible terms at the end of May. In India alone, blood pressure of 25 lakh individuals would be measured in. The initiative was launched on May Day under the aegis of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). PHFI chairman Dr. Shrinath Reddy said- It is high time to tame the blood coursing through our bodies to avert the catastrophe. The initiative will go a long way to towards this end.

This global initiative will be done in 100 countries simultaneously in the month of May, which aims to screen 25 million individuals, under the aegis of International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and the World Hypertension League (WHL). Indian Council for Medical Research along with Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has joined this initiative to raise awareness of blood pressure screening.

The drive will be conducted at 500 sites across India aiming to measure 25 lakh people that will contribute to the global cross-sectional survey of men and women aged between ≥18 to 65, who have not had their BP measured ever, or since 30 April 2016. Key partners in India are All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Medical Association, Army Medical Corps, and Association of Physicians of India & Industry too.