The President of Nigerian Hypertension Society, Prof. Simeon Isezuo, has advised Nigerians to ensure regular blood pressure check at reputable health facilities for healthy living.
Isezuo, a renowned Cardiologist and former Head of Medicine, Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, gave the advice in an interview on Tuesday in Sokoto.
He appealed to governments at all levels and stakeholders in the health sector to invest more in checkmating hypertension-related disorders,
as well as provide necessary instruments for blood pressure checks.
Isezuo was newly elected as the society’s president at the concluded 23rd Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference held in Abuja.
Hypertension is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high.
Usually, hypertension is defined as blood pressure that reads 140/90 and above, and considered severe if the pressure is above 180/120.
The condition often has no symptoms, hence the need to go for regular check because if untreated, it can cause health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.
Isezuo, who observed that three to four out of every 10 adults in Nigeria have hypertension, however, explained that “it is a lifelong condition
that can be controlled without affecting one’s lifespan.
“Unfortunately, many Nigerians are living with undetected hypertension; and because it has no symptoms, people do not go for check until complications such as stroke, heart failure or kidney disease arise; that is why it is called the silent killer.”
The cardiologist, therefore, stressed the need for regular blood pressure test, and encouraged those on medication to abide by the rules as prescribed by competent doctors.
