Janet Ogundepo The President of the Nigerian Hypertension Society, Prof. Simeon Isezuo, has identified changes in the dietary lifestyle of Nigerians and reduced engagement in physical activities as major factors responsible for rising cases of hypertension in the country. He stated that one in three adults and one in two Nigerian adults aged 60 and above have Hypertension.
In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise, the don noted that although the rise in the prices of drugs puts hypertensive patients at risk of being unable to buy their medications, leading to further complications, the rise in food prices could not cause hypertension. PUNCH Healthwise earlier reported that the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had decried the rising prevalence of hypertension at the recently concluded 24th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the NHS in Lagos.
Lagos Health Commissioner, Prof. Akin Abayomi At the conference themed, “Managing Hypertension in a Depressed Economy” with “Hypertension in Children” as a subtheme, Abayomi described the situation as alarming, noting that it continues to cause morbidity, mortality and economic impact among the population. He expressed concern over the statistics that a 30 per cent rate of Nigerian adults have hypertension, stating that lifestyle change was responsible for the prevalence.
According to the World Health Organisation, hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is when the blood ves.