MANILA, Philippines -- One out of five adult Filipinos is hypertensive and not even aware of the condition while 90 percent of the country?s population has one or more of the risk factors that contribute to high blood pressure.

This was revealed Friday by the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH), which cited a study showing that high blood pressure afflicts 17 percent of the population and could be considered an ?epidemic.?

At a forum in observance of World Hypertension Day at the Dusit Hotel in Makati, PSH founding president Dr. Ramon Abarquez Jr. said Hypertension "can exist without symptoms? and called it a ?silent killer.?

He pointed out cases in which damage had already been caused to a person?s organs before high blood pressure was detected.

?Unless BP (blood pressure) is recorded, target organs like the heart, brain or kidneys can be irreversibly damaged to compromise life.?Hypertension detection is paramount,? he said.

"Unfortunately, once established, hypertension is for life. Compliance to prescribed medication and clinic follow-ups are mandatory to prevent target organ damage,? he added.

For his part, Philippine Heart Association (PHA) president Dr. Efren Vicaldo pointed out that hypertensive patients do not die of hypertension but from the complications.

He said that Filipinos tend to be complacent in watching their lifestyle in the absence of clear symptoms of hypertension, which is generally ?asymptomatic? or does not exhibit signs.

Vicaldo maintained that hypertension was not difficult to treat, adding, ?A lifestyle change is part and parcel of controlling the condition.?

But he stressed that there was inadequate control in the country, pointing out that barely 10 percent of hypertension cases were under control through maintenance medication and regular checkups.

Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the Department of Health?s National Center for Disease Prevention and Control , said that based on 2003 mortality data, heart and vascular diseases, often caused by hypertension, were the top two causes of death in all age groups in the country.

She said that 90 percent of Filipinos have one or more risk factors or combinations. These risk factors, Oliveros said, include: smoking; obesity; lack of exercise; dangerously low consumption of fruits and vegetables; heredity.

The government, she said, was undertaking measures to reduce the exposure of the population to some of the risk factors particularly smoking, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical activity, through ?population-based interventions.?

As a remedy to avoid hypertension, Abarquez suggested that ?lifestyle modifications within the family or household should start before hypertension develops."

"It is difficult to quit smoking, lose weight or exercise and eat appropriate balanced meals if other family members or neighborhoods or office mates will not do the same,? he said.

The doctor revealed that PSH studies show that children, including adolescents, have strong chances of influencing their parents to alter their lifestyles. He pointed out that mothers, particularly in light of the Philippines? matriarchal society, should lead lifestyle modifications in the family.