Hypertension or high blood pressure is a degenerative disease which means the older we are, the more likely we are to get high blood pressure. Hypertension is known as the silent killer because often without complaints, so that the patient does not know he has hypertension and is only known after complications occur. The organs of the body that are targeted include the brain, eyes, heart, kidneys, and can also affect peripheral arteries. The Indonesian Ministry of Health has released Riskesdas 2018 data, which states the estimated number of hypertension cases in Indonesia is 63,309,620 people, while the death rate in Indonesia due to hypertension is 427,218 deaths.
Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (PPTM) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, dr. Cut Putri Arianie, M.H.Kes "…hypertension is one of the entrances or risk factors for diseases such as heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes, stroke,"
Prevent Hypertension by controlling Risk Factors
Hypertension can be prevented by controlling risky behaviors such as smoking, unhealthy diets such as less consumption of vegetables and fruit and excessive consumption of sugar, salt and fat, obesity, lack of physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption and stress. Riskesdas 2018 data on residents aged 15 years and over obtained data on risk factors such as the proportion of people who eat less vegetables and fruit by 95.5%, the proportion of lack of physical activity 35.5%, the proportion of smoking 29.3%, the proportion of central obesity 31% and the proportion of general obesity is 21.8%. The data above shows an increase when compared to the 2013 RISKESDAS data.
Spirulina helps control blood pressure and reduces the risk of hypertension
Spirulina is a microscopic Cyanobacterium algae and has filaments (blue-green algae) that are used as food for humans because they are rich sources of protein and vitamins, especially vitamin B12, minerals, -carotene, -linolenic acid (GLA), and phycocyanin. Several studies have shown that spirulina has biological activities such as preventing viral replication, preventing anemia, preventing diseases caused by fatty liver, lowering blood glucose levels, lipid profiles, and lowering blood pressure. (Grover K, Effect Of Supplementation Of Spirulina On Blood Glucose, 2008). Phycocyanin in Spirulina has the ability to bind to free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and inflammation are causative factors in cases of cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy, and hypertensive heart failure. The results of research conducted by Myta Sakti et. all – 2015, showed that after the intervention of Spirulina supplementation for 4 weeks there was a significant reduction in blood pressure between the spirulina group and the non-spirulina group. In addition, research conducted by Guan Y also found that high calcium and low sodium content in spirulina has a positive effect on blood pressure. (Deng R, Chow TJ, 2010)