Ogun Health Commissioner warns against risks of hypertension

A call has gone to every adult on the need for  precautions and management of hypertension which is a leading non-communicable cardiovascular disease that causes untimely death on a global scale. 

The Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, Dr. Tomi Coker who made this known while speaking at the inauguration of StandUp for Women Society ( SWS) in Abeokuta, said that    1. 4 billion people have hypertension worldwide.

Coker pointed that one out of four men and one in five women battle with this disease, just as she said that fewer than one in five people with hypertension have the condition under control.

She described the risks factors as modifiable and non-modifiable, saying that unhealthy diet, physical inactivity as well as excessive consumption of tobacco and obesity can be modified.

Coker further highlighted family history, age over 65 and co-existing disease such as diabetes and kidney issues as factors that cannot be modified. 

The Commissioner mentioned fatigue, nausea, early morning headaches, irregular heart rhythm and anxiety, among others as symptoms which can either be  severe or non-severe, pointing out that uncontrolled hypertension can result in heart failure, heart attack, stroke, and a number of other cardiovascular diseases.

Emphasizing the need for regular blood pressure check, Coker said that hypertension is a disease that can be managed and prevented with commitment to lifestyle modification such as exercise, healthy diet and reduction of alcohol and tobacco intake.

"It is good to have blood pressure checks regularly in order to keep it under control. Hypertension can be well managed if you take the right precautionary measures. It takes commitment to reduce salt intake, alcoholic intake and tobacco, among other excesses, " she said.  

The Commissioner said that the Prince Dapo Abiodun led government has been committed to screening people for hypertension in some selected Primary Healthcare Centers ( PHCs) in the state while the screening would be upscaled to 100 PHCs in no time. 

She advised all stakeholders to join the state government in awareness creation on the scourge of the disease through community outreach and media engagement across different platforms.