A guest lecture on ‘Management of Hypertension’ was organized today in Dumra Auditorium. The lecture was delivered by Dr Balhinder S.Brar (Medical Director, Davita Dialysis Corporation, Ohio and Nephrologist at St Vincent’s Hospital, Toledo) from USA
 
In his lecture, Dr Brar said that Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, affecting nearly one in three Americans. It is prevalent in adults and endemic in the older adult population. Hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although there is a simple test to diagnose hypertension and relatively inexpensive drugs to treat it, the disease is often undiagnosed and uncontrolled.
     
 
There are various medications that are commonly used to treat high blood pressure. Although generally well tolerated, high blood pressure medications can cause side effects; the side effects depend upon the specific drug given, dosage, and other factors. Some people will respond well to one drug but not to another. Therefore, it may take time to determine the right drugs and proper dosage to effectively lower blood pressure with a minimum of side effects.

In his lecture, Dr Brar said that a critical step in preventing and treating high blood pressure is a healthy lifestyle. He recommended certain lifestyle changes to treat High Blood Pressure, which include losing weight if one is overweight or obese, quit smoking, eating a healthy diet including  fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products and reducing the amount of sodium in your diet to less than 1,500 milligrams a day. Getting regular aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking for at least 30 minutes a day is strongly preferable. Now-a-days, it is encouraged that a person needs to monitor his own blood pressure at home, on a regular basis. The lecture was well-attended by the faculty and students of DMCH. White coat hyperstension i.e., patient getting blood pressure for seeing the doctor was also discussed. 
    
He also emphasized the role of home monitoring of blood pressure. Chief Cardiologist Dr GS Wander explained to the students the Indian Guideliness of Hypertension. Dr Sandeep Puri, Dr JS Sandhu also elaborated on certain aspects of hypertension. Dean Academics Dr Rajoo Singh Chhina said that such lectures by eminent doctors from all over the world helps in disseminating state of art scientific knowledge to the students.
Principal Dr Daljit Singh congratulated Dr Brar on the lecture and presented a momento on behalf of Dayanand Medical College & Hospital.