The medical profession and scientists have identified over ten silent killer diseases. The web pages are filled with the warning signals by the authorities on the subject of killer diseases .High blood pressure is one among them. It is counted as top most silent killer disease of the world. Why this epithet has been given to this deadly disease. ? The killer diseases are just like slow poisoning, the effects of which are not immediately visible. They remain hidden from the observing eye due to paucity of symptoms. The insidiousness of these diseases masks the real characteristics of the disease.
Every disease has its own personality and pace of development. Some diseases are very active and toxic type. These engulf the subject in no time and the victim is stunned by their virulence effect or toxicity. Their virulence in signs and symptoms is revealed in no time. It is easy to handle and manage these active and virulent type diseases. These are very quick in their action. The intensity of symptoms like inflammatory symptoms and excruciating pains make the subject very desperate. He becomes concerned so he takes medical help and treatment immediately as a medical emergency. The fever running in many diseases is such type of exigency. There are other diseases which are exactly opposed to the nature of acute inflammatory diseases. These are very insidious in onset and passive type in progression. The prognosis of such diseases is always full of dangers. These have no alarming signs and signals. .The patient is completely oblivious and indifferent to the fate and effects of these diseases. The pace of progression of these diseases is very slow. The patient does not feel any worrisome or agonizing effect of these diseases at all. His body is completely desensitized to the agonizing and tormenting effects of these diseases. Here the natural question arises why he does so desensitize his body to pains and agonies?. Before analyzing this fact let us analyze some other facts necessary to understand the true nature of these silent killer diseases.Two types of constitutions
• Neurotic and hyper sensitive.
• Immune and desensitized to all pain and sufferings.(dumb)
The neurotic and sensitive constitutions create pain even if there is no pain at all in their body. These hyper sensitive constitutions can create pain or cramp at their own will or unconscious wish.. When their desires or aspirations of life are suppressed and they feel ignored and neglected by their attending parents or friends or family members, they have inbuilt mechanism in their mind to create such vague pains of highest intensity to attract and focus the attention of others on them. Malingering is such a psychological technique in which the patient pretends unconsciously having suffering from some sever pain or agony. This mechanism works as safety valve for them. Their nervous system is so irritated and excited if they do not adhere to such safety mechanism that may explode into more serious diseases and complications of nervous system. The psychological complaints of teenage girls mostly belong to such category. These can be aptly called hysterical constitutions. These pains are of mental or psychic origin and they have no physical basis. Exaggeratedness is the unique feature or hallmark of their behavior. These patients know how to blow the pain out of proportion to seek attention and care. This is unconscious maneuvering and diplomatic type behavior. Suppose such a patient is ill with minor fever.
Now let us come to the second category of patients that is exactly the opposite of the first. This category may be describes as dumb, immune and insensitised category. It is in their inherent nature to minimize the sufferings and pains .In such a case, the temperature may be running too high unto 105F, and the patient will not be lying on bed with fever. Rather he will be doing all his house hold duties, as if nothing has happened to him. Neither he will complain of any pain nor will he consult any doctor for his fever. It is incidentally when the family members observe that his body is burning hot so he is brought to the doctor for check up. To the amazement of doctor the temperature raging too high i.e. 105F with his systolic blood pressure close to 200. Such a person can be walking around with high blood pressure for years and not knowing it until one day he has a stroke or heart attack or kidney failure. There are no predominant symptoms, no warnings, no disastrous signals, nothing like that, until the patient has severe heart attack or his coronary arteries are massively blocked many times it is too late to respond to medical care and attention. That's why the physicians or medical men name the blood pressure as “silent killer”. It will not be out of place to mention one instance of a friend of mine; who when suffered from massive heart attack one day was taken to a doctor. When the attending doctor angiographed his heart, his whole right side coronary artery and its branches were 90%blocked. There was heavy build up of plaques of atherosclerosis. He never knew that he was suffering from high blood pressure since long nor he experienced any symptoms as are generally accompaniment of blood pressure. So now it is crystal clear, why blood pressure is termed as silent killer disease.
How to identify such patients?
Though such dumb constitutions give no acute symptoms of high blood pressure yet the keen observer in the family can know from the behavior of such persons that he or she is suffering from blood pressure. One great identifying physical sign is that such patients have chilly and cool feet generally due to irregular supply of blood to body organs. Their head when toughed, always feels very hot. They might have suppressed urine output. These people hardly go to bathroom more than once in a whole day. Mentally and bodily these are immune or indifferent to pain and sufferings. All the senses are dulled or all the acuteness is gone from the five senses of body. Or they have perverted senses. Their sense of touch is poorly developed or not developed at all. If you pinch such a patient on arms, he will not yell or feel any pinch or pain at all. After identifying such patients on these physical signs, these must be tested for their blood profile and lipid profiles. This is the only way to save the lives of such unfortunate patients. Otherwise there are plenty of chances that the blood pressure will be known only when it is too late or when the mischief has been done.