30% of Nigerians are hypertensive - Expert states

30% of Nigerians are hypertensive. This is according to renowned cardiologist and President of the Cardiac Society of Nigeria, Dr. Amam Mbakwem.

Mbakwem who expressed concern over the rising incidences of hypertension among Nigerians said 30 million adult Nigerians are living with the disease and handful of others are yet to know their status.

With the condition not giving any warning signs in most cases, he advocated the need for Nigerians to adopt the culture of home monitoring of their blood pressures as part of efforts towards preventing complications arising from the killer disease.

Said she,

“Hypertension is one subject every Nigerian should be aware of. This is because the numbers are increasing in our nation. 15 to 20 years ago, it was like about 11 percent of adult Nigerians that will have hypertension but these days we are having figures like 30 percent and in some regional areas they figures are over 40 percent."

Speaking at an event by Omron Healthcare to mark the World Hypertension Day in Lagos, Mbakwem added:

“It is not just the numbers whether it is 120 or 140 but the damage that it causes because with blood pressure high in the system, it is heating the brains and it can damage the brains and when that happens, we talk about stroke. It can damage the eyes it can cause blindness, the heart can fail, it can cause heart attack. It can damage the kidneys and the arteries in the body and that is why we want everybody to be aware and if your blood pressure is high, you should have yourself properly treated and checked,”

She urged every adult to know their blood pressure numbers by maintaining a good habit of regular monitoring and medical checks with home high blood pressure checks like Omron.