"When I came to consciousness, I found my family crying beside me," he said, adding, "I felt sad as both my son and daughter were small and it is my responsibility to bring them up." [break]
Doctors cautioned him about his pressure exceeding to dangerous levels and advised him to take regular medication to keep it under control.
Boshwa, a trader by occupation, concluded that the medicine wasn´t working in his case and turned to yoga and exercise to rein in the rising blood pressure.
"It has been six years that I haven´t taken any medicine, yet my pressure has remained normal," he added. Boshwa also provides free yoga training at Tundikhel every morning.
Gyan Maya Shrestha, 48, of Nagal Kathmandu shares that regular practice of exercise and yoga has relieved her from high blood pressure and the asthma.
Shrestha, who is overweight, said that she feels fresh the whole day after exercising in the morning.
Boshwa and Shrestha are only few among hundreds of thousands of people in the capital who have embraced exercising and yoga to burn excessive fat in their bodies that is a source of many a health problems.
Doctors attributed that changing lifestyle and eating habits of the people living in the capital and other big cities is causing of hypertension among people, which has now reached to epidemic proportion.
A random survey conducted by Norvic International Hospital, last week has found that about one third population of the capital has high blood pressure, but that only few among them are aware of it. Out of 1, 1 59 examined, 625 were found to have hypertension. Among them 173 were diagnosed for the first time of having high blood pressure. The hospital said that, of those studied, 115 needed immediate medications as their blood pressure readings were above 100-160, which is considered dangerous.
Another study conducted recently by Civil Hospital among Singha Durbar employees showed over 70 percent of bureaucrats suffering from high blood pressure. Likewise, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) in the past had also revealed that about 20 percent Kathmanduites had hypertension.
Hypertension is a condition in which blood pressure stays high for a long period of time. Doctors said that persistent high blood pressure is dangerous as it puts undue stress on the heart, blood vessels and other organs. Dr Bharat Rawat, executive director and consultant cardiologist at Norvic Hospital, said unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, stressful life cause the blood pressure levels to rise. He said results of the survey was alarming and asked concerned authority to take initiatives to caution people about the problem.
"Hypertension affects not only the individual but also to the whole family, society and ultimately the nation," said Dr Rawat, adding, "Nation has to bear the cost of sick citizens."
The risk of high blood pressure increases with age. But Dr Rawat said that lately the problem has been seen in a lot of young people. Hypertension is also known as ´silent killer´ that kill millions of people of across the globe every year, according to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Dr Rawat, people who consume alcohol and tobacco are prone to multiple health complications, including hypertension. He suggested city dwellers, most of whom lead a busy lifestyle, to bring change in their daily routine to make more room for exercising. "Benefits of exercise are huge. It helps to normalize the blood pressure and brings about weight loss," he said. High blood pressure leads to heart attack, brain attack, strokes, kidney disease, eye problems, among others.
Dr Shivaji Bikram Silwal, a cardiologist at the hospital, said that everybody should get their blood pressure checked regularly. He said that exercise helps to control hypertension by burning the fat in the body. He also urged people to reduce salt intake, which raises the pressure. "An individual should consume only four grams of salt each day, but most of us take more than double that amount," he said, adding, "We look at having to get our blood pressure examined regularly as a nuisance, yet we do not walk enough or change our preference for fast food."
He said that young people want luxurious lifestyle and their reliance on vehicles even to travel short distances is not a good sign. He also advises everyone to avoid red meat that is said to cause several health complications. Age, sex family history, genetic factors are supposed to be other reasons.
About 5 to 10 percent of patients have high blood pressure due to physical ailment like kidney disease and others.
Dr Rawat advised everybody to quit smoking and alcohol, lose weight, and avoid stressful situations that cause several health complications. He asked people to go for a regular check up and not wait for symptoms as high blood pressure usually does not show clearly identifiable symptoms. He said that patients can remain blissfully aware of the problem until it inflicts serious damage.
Dr Rawat is of the view that shopping centers, banks and pharmacies should provide free pressure check up services to their customers. He said that digital pressure checking devices has been introduced in the market at a very cheap price.
He said that regular physical exercise makes heart stronger and healthy heart can pump more blood with less effort, thus, reducing the blood pressure. Dr Rawat also asked all to reduce size of waist. He said that males have to maintain their waist line below 90 cm and females below 80 cm.
Doctors also said that meditation plays an important role to keep the stress level down. "Keep laughing regularly as it is also good for health," added Rawat.
Classification of high blood pressure
Systolic BP Diastolic BP Normal <120mm of Hg <80 mm of Hg
Pre- hypertension 120-139mmof Hg <80-89mm of Hg
Stage I Hypertension 140-159 mm of Hg 90-99 mm of Hg
Stage II Hypertension =/> 160mm of Hg =/100mm of Hg
(Source: Healthier Life Style by Dr Bharat Rawat)
Some common contributors to high blood pressure
Sedentary lifestyle
Smoking
Alcohol
Weight gain
Diet
Birth control
Stress heredity
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Hypertension: A common health problem in Nepal
