As Nigerian joins the rest of the world to celebrate World Hypertension Day on May 17 to promote awareness about hypertension and encourage people to prevent and control this silent killer, experts has said that with changing lifestyles and gender roles, the impact of hypertension can be seen in both men and women. It therefore becomes extremely important to be aware of how high blood pressure affects the body to keep it in control and prevent fatalities.
Hypertension is considered to be a common problem in Nigeria as the country currently ranks 6th in Africa and 50 percent of people with the disease.
Bisi Bright, a public health consultant and CEO Livewell Initiative, said one in every three to five Nigerian is hypertensive. “The disease can be averted through a healthy lifestyle, eating balanced diet and getting enough sleep. Nigeria is very stressful place so the stress level is very high. This is because of the poor infrastructure and human resource support systems and these results in stressful conditions, “she said.
Despite the condition being so common, people tend to ignore the common signs and symptoms of hypertension. Almost one-third of people who have high blood pressure aren’t aware of the same because high blood pressure often shows no symptoms. This is the reason why high blood pressure is often referred to as a silent killer. Many people are not able to find out that they have high blood pressure until they face problems with their heart, kidney, or brain.
According to Ojo Sikiru, a Lagos based medical practitioner, said regular health check-ups and proper case management under the supervision of a cardiologist can help manage the condition and treat the hypertension.
“Many Nigeria’s present late diagnosis due to asymptomatic state, poor awareness and mass health screening practices at the level of primary or secondary healthcare. High blood pressure treatment requires immediate medical controlling and with a proper diet and exercise and regular consultation with a physician,” he said.
The theme this year is ‘Know Your Numbers’ with a goal of increasing awareness about high blood pressure (BP). However, signs and symptoms of Hypertension are not specific and usually do not occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage.
Undetected and untreated, it leads to problems in the functions of major organs and serious complications such as heart attacks, stroke and other diseases which can eventually lead to disability or death.
The recommended normal blood pressure levels range between 120/80mm Hg to 140/90 mm Hg.
Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a common condition in which there is an excessive long term force of blood applied to the artery walls leading to heart diseases. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries are, the higher would be your blood pressure.
However, the Nigerian Hypertension Society, an affiliate of the International Society of Hypertension and World Hypertension League advises thus; everybody should check his/her blood pressure regularly, consult medical practitioners for proper advice, take medications regularly to achieve a good blood pressure control and thus prevent complications like stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure, avoid excessive salt consumption as this is strongly linked to development of disease.
The society added that eating healthy diets with daily consumption of fruits and vegetables would help prevent the disease, also exercising regularly (at least 30 minutes daily or a minimum of three non-consecutive days per week), and avoiding unhealthy lifestyles like smoking and alcohol consumption.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
