Quoting a survey report they said among the elderly population about 49 percent of urban and only 17 percent of rural hypertensive are aware of their hypertension status.

Of the elderly hypertensive, only 4.5 percent in urban and 3.1 percent in rural area have controlled blood pressure, they added.

The press conference was organised by Hypertension Committee of National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh (NHFB) at the National Press Club in the city yesterday on the eve of the World Hypertension Day on Thursday.

This year's theme of the day is 'Healthy Diet and Healthy Blood Pressure."

The speakers said high blood pressure or hypertension, which is now a major problem in Bangladesh, can be prevented or controlled by simple changes in lifestyle.

They suggested intake of low sodium or salt diet, regular exercise, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, weight reduction if overweight and avoiding alcohol to prevent hypertension.

The speakers said control of other risk factors that interact with blood pressure is also important and these are smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes.

As these risk factors accelerate the damage of heart and blood vessels, it is important to manage and control all of them, they added.

National Professor and Secretary General of NHFB Brig (retd) Abdul Malik, Chairman of Hypertension Committee of NHFB Prof RK Khandaker, Director of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital Prof AKM Mohibullah, and Chairman of the cardiology department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Prof KMHS Sirajul Haque were present at the press conference.