A 40-year-old female diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease came to my OPD to get a clearance for a kidney transplant. She was considerably physically active and used to participate in basketball games at her school. She was diagnosed with hypertension during pregnancy which apparently got corrected after delivery. Her current health issue started six months ago when she paid a visit to the hospital to evaluate the swelling in her feet. This was when her renal failure and hypertension were both diagnosed for the first time. She was the sister of one of my patients, whom I had been treating for more than five years. He had an acute aortic dissection, a condition with a tear in one of the walls of the aorta, which is a major blood vessel in the body. Acute aortic dissection is a medical emergency with about 30% mortality if untreated. He underwent a successful emergency surgery and now lives a normal life.
Both siblings were victims of uncontrolled hypertension. One had his heart affected, and the other kidneys two of the major organs in the human body. Both patients had never experienced any symptoms before the diagnosis. "Hypertension is a silent killer" - the tale of the above two siblings supports this strong statement. When blood pressure is recorded, hypertension can be detected; hence screening for hypertension should be done whenever possible. Please don't wait for symptoms to appear because it might be too late to take action.
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