Taming the steady silent killer, high blood pressure

Mr. Taiwo Ojo never found out about his blood pressure problem. Few hours of complaining to his fiancée that he had severe body weakness and inability to control his increased breathing pace, 31year old Taiwo passed on and the autopsy revealed that he suffered from high blood pressure.

The fact that late Ojo had no idea what hit him is not strange. Most Nigerians are yet to imbibe the habits of regular checkups rather they only visit hospitals to access care when they are down with malaria and other infectious diseases. Unknown to them, high blood pressure kills faster than them all.

High blood pressure also referred to as hypertension is perhaps one of the deadliest disease being one which shows no signs or symptoms. This disease is no respecter of persons as it affects people of all ages. One may suffer from this disease for long time without even knowing it until maybe when it’s pretty late to act. Within the period of ignorance, experts say, the disease can damage the heart, kidney, blood vessels and other parts of the body.

According to World Health Organization’s Global status report, Africa has the highest prevalence of hypertension estimated at 46% of adults aged 25 and above.

Further studies also reveals that 57million Nigerians are hypertensive and some reports put the percentage of Nigerians that are hypertensive at 40 with just a selected been aware they do. 1 in 4 adults in Nigeria are also said to be hypertensive.

Public health expert, Dr Doyin Odubanjo offers more explanation on the causes of high blood pressure.

“Age is a determinant factor because as people grow older their blood vessels become hardened. There are changes that will take place with age that will give cause an increase in blood pressure. For those above 40years, it’s expected to occur but for those below 40 or even 30, it calls for more investigation as it might be a kidney or hormonal problem”

“High blood pressure results when the heart is working harder than it ought to, to ensure blood circulation through the blood vessels. The symptoms are not always obvious which means one should make regular checkups a must”

On measures to adopt or avoid, Dr Ijeoma Agbeze of C Bennette Specialist hospital says good diet and healthy lifestyles should not be toyed with, adding that salt intake tops the list of foods to steer clear of.

“Usually when one is diagnosed with high blood pressure, they are warned to reduce their salt intake. The salt regulation will determine how much the body retains or excretes. So, with high salt intake, the body is likely to hold onto a lot of fluid which will end up in the blood vessels and so increase the blood pressure.

“Smoking damages the blood vessels. Regular blood pressure checkups, avoiding high cholesterol diet and the use of raw salt should be prohibited.  Low animal fat like ‘tozo’ and red meat, alcohol, smoking should be avoided. Hypertension increases the risk of blindness, heart failure and attacks, kidney failure, strokes and other serious health consequences in strokes”

How about managing high blood pressure?

Dr Odubanjo says, “One should endeavour to maintain an acceptable weight, check blood pressure as often as possible, manage your salt intake and engage in moderate exercise”

On if high blood pressure is hereditary, Dr Odubanjo responds, “To some extent it tends to run in the family but just like breast cancer, the person will have to be more careful so that if it does occur, it would be faster to detect”

Though a silent killer, the good news remains that high blood pressure can be easily detected and once it is, it can be adequately controlled with the assistance of a doctor.