Chioma Umeha
A diagnosis of High Blood Pressure, HBP, or as
known by its medical terms, Hypertension is never a good news to the
patient. However, being aware of
the condition is good because it helps the patient to modify his lifestyle.
According to recent survey by the World Health
Organisation (WHO), there are at least 1.13 billion people globally suffering
from Hypertension.
But, that is not the end of the bad news. The
survey also found that incidences of hypertension had doubled in the last 40 years.
Another WHO’s recent gender comparison data on
hypertension prevalence further rated Nigerian adult high with 51 percent for
males and 49 percent for females, followed by Ghana with 41 percent male and 38
percent female.
It is against this background that pharmacists
marked this year’s World Hypertension Day via a walk against high Blood
Pressure (BP).
The pharmacists who organised the event under the
auspices of West African Postgraduates College of Pharmacists Nigeria (WAPCP),
Lagos Zone, in partnership with Association of Public Health Pharmacists of
Nigeria (APHEPON)also did free BP screening and health talk. The theme of the
day was “Know Your Blood Pressure.”
Dr. Arinola Joda, Publicity Secretary,
Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) while speaking for WAPCP and APHEPON in
an interview with DAILY INDEPENDENT, said that the two groups united to generate
awareness about hypertension.
Joda noted that since hypertension is a silent
killer and do not show any symptoms till gets chronic, awareness is vital to
hinder its prevalence.
She reasoned; “If people know their status,
BP-wise, then they are better able to protect themselves – keep themselves
healthy because hypertension has been identified as a single risk factor for
many cardiovascular diseases and endocrine problems.
“But, a lot of people don’t know their status, so
you find people getting out of bed and just collapsing or developing a stroke
because of some high blood pressure they didn’t know they had, so they were not
managing it.”
The seasoned pharmacist further explained that
when people know their BP status, they will be able to seek care quickly,
control their BP, and prevent these other adverse outcomes.
That is why WAPCP, Nigeria chapter, Lagos zone
thought it fit to organise a programme to create awareness so that people can
go out to find their BP status, Joda said.
Concerning the walk, she said that it was aimed at
creating awareness for people to take advantage of the free screening exercise
and determine their BP status.
According to her, the lecture was a forum for more
information about BP and other cardiovascular issues to be shared.
Warning against the dangers of hypertension as a
silent killer and symptom-less disease, Joda stressed that though the sufferer
does not show symptoms; he is ‘developing complications anyway.’
Giving instances, she said, “You can have
macrovascular complications; you can have things like diabetes developing
because of hypertension, you can have eye problems developing because of
hypertension.”
The erudite pharmacist pointed diet and sedentary
lifestyle as major contributing factors to hypertension.
She said that those who do jobs that require them
to sit for long hours; doing no physical exercises at all are prone to
hypertension.
According to her, the scenario not necessarily
prevalent among the middle class alone, because even the jobs of many
low-income earners are not so physical in nature, but make them sit and
confined for long.
Then the food they eat is very unhealthy, she
said, adding, “You can see somebody with a large bowl or plate of starch, and
very little protein, and a lot of fat.”
The common types of hypertension in Nigeria, she
said are Pre-hypertension, Stage 1 hypertension and Stage 2 hypertension. The
normal blood pressure is 120/80, pre-hypertension tends to 139/89, Stage 1
tends to 159/99, while any blood pressure higher from 160/100 is Stage 2.
On treatments, Joda observed that if hypertension
has not developed complications, managing BP is fairly straightforward, and can
be done at any secondary care facility around.
She therefore recommended exercising and control
of diet, noting that these are preventive measures.
“For people that are in that pre-hypertension
stage, the best treatment is something we call lifestyle modification, Joda
also said.
“If they manage their diet, increase their level
of exercise, avoid some certain things like salt in the diet, stop smoking and
reduce their level of alcohol intake, there will be an effect on the blood
pressure.”
The walk
The pharmacists took a walk to the popular Makoko
market where sellers and buyers were sensitised on the need to check their BP
from time to time, so as to curb hypertension, in order to avoid an escalation
of an already dangerous situation.
Literary materials on heart diseases, strokes and
hypertension were also distributed as part of the sensitisation. On the way to
and from the market, pedestrians and road users also received sensitisation
materials, and the invitation to benefit from the the free BP check was also
extended to them.
Free BP check
Recipients of the Free BP check and participants
at the lecture commended the efforts. Sarah Ogunsanya, a civil servant working
with the Yaba Local Government (LCDA) said; “The programme was nice. I checked
my blood pressure, and it was found to be normal.”
Ogunsanya said that they were counseled on how to
maintain blood pressure.
She encouraged people to go and check their BP,
noting, “Some people die suddenly as a result of not checking their BP. So I
thank the pharmacists.”
Another participant, Mrs. Omawunmi Ologududu, also
a civil servant, told DAILY INDEPENDENT, “The programme was ok, and I love it.
I checked my BP and it was normal.”
Ologududu also said, “They advised us not to eat
too much salt, to stop smoking, eat balanced diet; a little garri (eba), plenty
vegetables and fruits. Visibly excited at the positive outcome of her BP check,
she said, “I want them to be doing the programme every month, to enable people
check their BP here.”
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