Thursday, 15 August 2013

HYPERTENSION: The Silent Killer

Hypertension which is also known as 'high blood pressure' is a serious public health issue affecting about one billion people worldwide (WHO, 2013).  A report by the World Health Organisation (2013) stated that about 1 in 3 adults worldwide have hypertension. In other words, if 3 adults are sat together in a room, it is very likely that one of them has hypertension.


Due to low rennin activity in the body, high Salt diet and physical inactivity, Black people/Africans are more likely to have Hypertension. In adults between age 20-30years old, 1 in 10 people have high blood pressure and in adults above age 50years, 5 in 10 people do (Dreisbach,    2011).
                                                      

You see, hypertension is a silent killer! Many who have the hypertension do not know they have it because the symptoms are rarely obvious.  It is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and if not treated on time, high blood pressure/hypertension can lead to stroke, heart attack or even death (NHS Choices, 2012).


Researchers have estimated that every year nine million people worldwide die as a result of high blood pressure (WHO, 2013). A study by the Global burden of Disease identified hypertension as the 4th contributor to premature death in developed nations and the 7th cause of premature death in developing nations (Rao et al, 2012).


Despite the fact that hypertension is one of the biggest health challenge in the 21st century, it is preventable and also easy to treat if detected early (Rao et al, 2012). So just in case you didn’t know, the normal blood pressure for a healthy person is about 120/80mmHg, you should do your best to maintain a blood pressure around this.  Anything close to 139/89mmHg means the individual is highly at risk of hypertension and the blood pressure needs to start getting monitored and followed up some lifestyle changes.


If you are based in the UK, you can check your BP for free at your local GP or with the NHS! I cannot really say much about the healthcare system in other countries but no matter where you are, checking your blood pressure should be quite cheap, stress-free and pain-free!  There are also affordable and easy-to- use sphygmomanometer/blood pressure meters available for sale at local pharmacies, you can use this to monitor your blood pressure at home yourself.




HYPERTENSION KILLS SILENTLY!  TRACK YOUR BP NUMBERS NOW & LET US KNOCK OUT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE!!!
Stay healthy, fit and sweet,
with love,
LadyMay xx

4 comments:

  1. God bless you LadyMay, this was highly educative. keep up the good work and more grease to your elbow.

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    Replies
    1. Amen. I'm glad your learnt something new, thanks for stopping by :)

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  2. Obaduyi Oluwagbenga8/16/2013

    Tanks a bunch dear...does high sugar level also cause hyperTENSION?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not a doctor lol but from the little I've read, high blood sugar (diabetes) increases ones chances of getting hypertension. So we gotta watch both salt and sugar intake.

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