High Blood Pressure – A Silent Killer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Below is a short article that gives some interesting information about high blood pressure and its consequences.

Read the article then be ready to talk about health and other health issues.

http://www.english-online.at/health_medicine/high-blood-pressure/high-blood-pressure-silent-killer.htm

Discussion Question:

  1. Do you know some people who suffer from high blood pressure? What are their struggles with this condition?
  2. Is high blood pressure also a widespread health problem in your country? Why do you think that is?
  3. Have there been steps taken by the national health ministry to reduce cases of this so-called ‘silent killer’? What are they?
  4. Do you agree that a lifestyle change can make a person healthier?
  5. What are some of the things you do to stay healthy?
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7 replies on “High Blood Pressure – A Silent Killer”

People over certain age usually tend to suffer high blood pressure. All my acquaintances are struggling against this disease and some of them need to be careful with the diet and even, some take some pills to keep the blood pressure under control.
The high blood pressure is a disease widespread all along my country. I think that not only obesity or bad diet is the consequence for having high blood pressure. There are other causes such as problems or stress which can lead to provoke an imbalance of the blood levels.
The National Health Ministry tries to transmit the society the importance of having healthy habits in different ways: children are taught at school that they need to eat more fruits and vegetables and less industrial fats through workshops or encourage them to eat fruit during their playtime. Some products such as tobacco are forbidden to be advertised on TV and they are penalized with higher taxations.
I completely agree that a lifestyle change can improve health in any person. Eating more fruit, fish, vegetable, what it is called as a Mediterranean diet, as well as practising any type of sport twice a week at least, are a good way to keep a person free of many diseases. Others will not be able to be avoided but the more a person can do for him/herself the better.
I have always thought that it is important for any person to take care of oneself. Because of it, I do not eat any fat food, I do exercise four days a week, I neither smoke or drink any spirits drinks and try to keep calm as much as I can.

You can write very well. Keep up the great job!

Take a look at some minor revisions you can make in this sentence to make it a little better:

All my acquaintances are struggling against this disease and some of them need to be careful with the diet and even, some take some pills to keep the blood pressure under control.

All my acquaintances are struggling with this disease and some of them need to be careful with their diet and some even take some pills to keep their blood pressure under control.

Enjoy writing!

1.- I don´t know anyone who suffers from high blood presure, but I have friends who suffer from diabetes, and they have to be very carefull with their diet and must do exercise regularly, apart from controlling their sugar level in blood

2.- I think it is, mainly on people after their fourties. In my view, bad habbits like overconsumption of processed food, alcohol, and the lack of physical activity go hand in hand with this illness

3.- Yes, since long time ago there are extra taxes on alcoholic drinks and tobaco. In these days, they are considering taxing sugary products as well. Moreover, there are many related campaings in the media.

4.- I totally agree with this statement, healthy lifestyle habits are the key to prevent many common diseases in developed coutries

5.- On one hand, a healthy balanced diet, and, on the other hand, exercise at least three times a week. Apart form taking care of your mental health and following correct sleeping habits

Thank you for your efforts in answering this lesson’s discussion questions. Well done!

Here is one sentence you can revise:

I don´t know anyone who suffers from high blood presure, but I have friends who suffer from diabetes, and they have to be very carefull with their diet and must do exercise regularly, apart from controlling their sugar level in blood

I don´t know anyone who suffers from high blood pressure, but I have friends who suffer from diabetes, and they have to be very careful with their diet and they must do exercises regularly, apart from controlling their blood sugar levels.

Until your next entry!

1. I only know oldest people with high blood pressure like grandparents. They take daily anti-hypertensive pills, and visits the doctors for controls. They also measures the blood pressure at home.
2. Yes, because obesity and bad habits has been increased and it affects directly also young population. The new games incites sedentarism. Young people prefer to play in the computer or with the mobile phones or tu use electric skateboards. Also fast food are available to everyone. For the rest of the population, the stress and less time for cooking healthy is also a problem. All those small things goes hand in hand with diabetes and obesity, which increases health risks even further.
3.There are campaigns to prevent poor diet in schools. Vending machines of food are prohibited in many schools as well as the selling of sugar drinks.
4. I agree with that. Being active, practicing some sport, eating healthy at least during the major part of the week, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, are easy tips that makes a person healthier.
5. I try to be active after work and I go to the gym at least 2 times per week. I eat 2-3 pieces of fruit each day ad a lot of vegetables I drink more than 1.5l water per day. I also love sweets, but I try to avoid it as much as possible.

Glad to see you working on your writing skills through the Phoneenglish blog.

Take a look at the following sentences and see how they can be revised a little:

I only know oldest people with high blood pressure like grandparents. They take daily anti-hypertensive pills, and visits the doctors for controls. They also measures the blood pressure at home.

I only know elderly people with high blood pressure like my grandparents. They take maintenance anti-hypertensive pills daily , and visit their doctors for monitoring their conditions. They also measure their blood pressure at home.

Looking forward to more entries from you!

1. Do you know some people who suffer from high blood pressure? What are their struggles with this condition?
Luckily, I don’t know anyone.
2. Is high blood pressure also a widespread health problem in your country? Why do you think that is?
I am not aware of how much is high blood pressure spread in Spain. Probably the Mediterranean diet could be a good prevention mechanism. Unfortunately, the shift in diet trends could make it more frequent or, at least, more visible.
3. Have there been steps taken by the national health ministry to reduce cases of this so-called ‘silent killer’? What are they?
I am aware of campaigns fighting the abuse of sugar, avoiding fast food and soda in schools and forcing the alimentation industry to properly announce when their products are unhealthy.
4. Do you agree that a lifestyle change can make a person healthier?
I completely agree. I do think that becoming more active and avoiding sedentarism is one of the first steps. Additionally, you can become aware of the quality of the food that you buy and how appropriate is your diet for you.

5. What are some of the things you do to stay healthy?
I try to swim twice per week, one additional day to the gym and walk when possible.

I avoid soda drinks and try instead water and tea as much as possible. I try to use vegetables and fruits whenever it suits fine and prefer fish over meat.

But it is still a work in progress.

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