A leading African health tech startup, Wella Health, as part of celebration of this year’s World Heart Day, is carrying out free blood pressure tests for over 100,000 Nigerians across its 600 partner pharmacies from September 29 to October 29.
World Heart Day is observed and celebrated every September 29. The global awareness day is intended to increase public understanding of cardiovascular diseases, prevention, early detection and treatment.
According to study, cardiovascular diseases, commonly referred to as CVDs, are the number one cause of death globally, killing 17.9 million people yearly and accounting for 31 percent of all global deaths.
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“Cardiovascular diseases are often perceived as a problem strictly for older people. CVDs can affect anyone and at any age. The rise in obesity and diabetes at earlier ages also adds to the overall risk,” Ikpeme Neto, chief executive officer and founder, Wella Health, said while speaking on the campaign.
According to Neto, for 25- to 34-year-old men and women, heart disease is the fourth-leading cause of death while for 35- to 44-year-olds, heart disease is even deadlier and is the second biggest killer of men and third biggest killer of women.
“Unfortunately, it is now more common in adolescents and young adults,” Neto said.
“By offering free blood pressure tests to over 100,000 Nigerians in celebration of World Heart Day and later World Stroke Day coming up in October, our goal is to join the global fight against cardiovascular diseases and minimize mortality, especially among young adults,” he said.
He said blood pressure screening is important because high blood pressure usually has no symptoms and cannot be detected without being measured, noting that high blood pressure is the number one risk factor for heart disease and often considered a silent killer.
Experts have revealed that the primary causes of cardiovascular diseases are smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol which in turn show up in people as high blood pressure, high blood sugar and obesity.
Proffering solutions, Neto said lifestyle changes including healthy eating, regular physical activity and quitting tobacco use are advised to improve heart health.
Wella Health is a health technology startup, focused on providing affordable and accessible high-quality healthcare protection for all Africans.
