IN Nigeria and environs, High Blood Pressure, a.k.a. Hypertension, is increasingly becoming a problem. It puts people at risk of heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Already a massive hidden killer, High Blood Pressure is set to sharply rise as Nigerians adopt western diets and sedentary lifestyles.
High blood pressure is twice as high in Nigeria compared with most neighbouring countries and less than 1 in 5 Nigerians are aware that they are hypertensive.
It is estimated that one in-three men and one-in-four women are hypertensive, and this is set to rise to 39 million cases by 2030. It is particularly worrisome that high blood pressure is treated effectively in less than 10 per cent of cases.
As one of the most prevalent Non Communicable diseases worldwide, hypertension is responsible for an estimated 45 percent of deaths due to heart disease and 51 percent of deaths due to stroke globally.
