A 27year old lost to early DEATH From a Silent killer Disease

Uprooting the Silent Destroyer

The sudden death of twenty seven year recent Ikechi Jonas has remains a puzzle in his family. Jonas’s death didn't solely send cold chills down the spine of all who knew him whereas he was alive however prods the question: who are going to be future victim?

Jonas was hale and hearty on that fateful Friday evening. Jonas and his friends whom he earlier cracked jokes with never had any inclination of what fate had in store for him that night.

Jonas was said to possess came back home, had his bathtub and prepare for his dinner when he suddenly slumped.

His mother was the sole one at home. She was helpless and confused. Immediately, she concluded that it had been a non secular attack. She started praying and rubbing anointing oil everywhere him however Jonas was gone. once some minutes of prayers, she unfettered a loud scream that attracted neighbours who rushed Jonas to the hospital. planning to the hospital, Jonas was wheeled into the emergency ward of the hospital where series of tests were ran on him. The results of the tests indicated that Jonas had a heart attack. more medical examinations revealed that the center attack was as a results of an untreated Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) he has had for years while not knowing.

Unfortunately, in spite of the battle to avoid wasting his life, Jonas never wakened to inform his story. When Jonas was wheeled into the hospital, his Blood Pressure was three hundred. however specialists say blood pressure is traditional if it's below 120/80 mm.

According to the doctors, Jonas was already a walking corpse days before he finally collapsed.

For Janet Ade sixty, receiving the news of her HBP standing was conjointly like hanging a death sentence on her neck.

Even for several weeks once she had commenced the reatment, she repeatedly asked her doctor if she would be totally cured of the disease.

On every occasion, she was given the reassurance, whereas her doctor conjointly kept reminding her that she shouldn’t miss her daily dose.

Few months into the treatment, Patient started feeling higher and he or she did another HBP reading that showed her HBP numbers have improved.

“But still, i used to be told to continue with the specified doses, on each day.” she recalled.

Janet like each alternative HPB patient conjointly felt that she was out of danger few weeks into her treatment. The thought of getting to require these medicine forever gave her sleepless night, hence, she determined to undertake the opposite one, herbal mixture.

Unfortunately, Janet never knew that he was solely digging her grave. “I couldn’t still perceive the message all right till I abandoned my medicine. Few months later I wakened on a hospital bed. The doctors said i used to be rushed to the hospital unconscious”

Janet was lucky to survive however Jonas is one amongst the numerous Nigerians that die as a results of undiagnosed hypertension.

Today, the magnitude of deaths as a results of High Blood Pressure (HBP) in Nigeria has become such that desires terribly urgent attention to avoid an imminent epidemic of cardiovascular diseases within the country. Cardiovascular diseases are categories of diseases that involve the center or blood vessels, like heart attack, heart failure, sudden death, stroke and cardiac rhythm issues amongst others.

Hypertension conjointly known as HBP may be a common condition within which the force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough that it's going to eventually cause health issues, like heart disease. consistent with physicians, HBP usually develops over a few years, and it affects nearly everybody eventually. Fortunately, it will be simply detected. And once you recognize you've got high blood pressure, you'll work along with your doctor to regulate it.

Hypertension is that the commonest cardiovascular condition within the world, sadly, the matter of defining a method for management confronts all societies. Worst still, Hypertension has been implicated because the highest reason behind cardiovascular disease in Nigeria. Although, it's treatable, social conditions in Nigeria and Africa normally create the implementation of blood pressure management programmes tough.

Blood pressure is decided by quantity|the quantity|the number} of blood the center pumps and also the amount of resistance to blood flow within the arteries. The a lot of blood the center pumps and also the narrower the arteries, the upper the blood pressure. you'll have high blood pressure for years with none symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure will increase your risk of great health issues, together with heart attack and stroke.

However, blood pressure is alleged to be traditional if it's below 120/80 mm Hg. however some doctors advocate 115/75 mm Hg as a stronger goal. Once blood pressure rises higher than 115/75 mm Hg, the danger of cardiovascular disease begins to extend.

The disease that ranks third as a reason behind incapacity in adjusted life years will increase the danger of ischaemic heart disease to four-folds and of overall cardiovascular risk by 3 -folds in Nigeria. It conjointly estimated that forty per cent of cases of acute myocardial infarction or stroke are thanks to hypertension.

Despite the supply of effective treatments, studies have shown that in several countries, but twenty five per cent of patients have access to treatments.

A national survey of the prevalence of hypertension and alternative non-communicable diseases, found that ten per cent of the Nigerian population have regular high blood pressure.

In the views of Emeritus Professor of drugs, Olujimi Akinkugbe, HBP occurred basically in ten per cent of the population of adults aged between fifteen and seventy. “Prevalence rate was regarding constant in males and females; thus if we tend to are talking of a population of a hundred and forty million, which means regarding 10million individuals have hypertension”.

Of that ten per cent, maybe between seven and eight million can fall into the class of delicate hypertension, no symptoms the least bit unless a check is conducted.

There also are pointers that indicate that hypertension is a lot of common within the urban cluster within the cities than within the rural areas, as a result of within the town you're exposed to a lot of varieties of stress, violence, salt intake, overweight, very little exercise, and alternative risk factors within the genesis; these days the state of affairs has not modified rather it's worsen.

Following the silent nature of hypertension, specialists suggested on prevention instead of treatment, noting, “things that sustain hypertension are obesity, lack of exercise, high salt intake, stress of assorted sorts, and there are several of those within the slums across Nigeria where the violence index is high, where there's most stress, congestion and thus on; of these promote hypertension.

In a study titled, “Prevalence, awareness, treatment and management of hypertension during a Nigerian population” by Dr Obinna Ikechukwu and colleagues, it had been documented that there's poor detection, treatment and management of hypertension in Nigeria.

The bottom line is that hypertension may be a silent killer as a result of it's deadly and has no early important symptoms. to flee the hazards of Hypertension you want to forever get your blood pressure checked to rule out hypertension.

Overview of Hypertension

High blood pressure may be a common condition within which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it's going to eventually cause health issues, like heart disease.

Blood pressure is decided by quantity|the quantity|the number} of blood your heart pumps and also the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The a lot of blood your heart pumps and also the narrower your arteries, the upper your blood pressure. you'll have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years with none symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure will increase your risk of great health issues, together with heart attack and stroke.

Symptoms

Most people with high blood pressure don't have any signs or symptoms, even though blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels. though a number of individuals with early-stage high blood pressure might have uninteresting headaches, dizzy spells or a number of a lot of nosebleeds than traditional, these signs and symptoms usually don’t occur till high blood pressure has reached a severe even life-threatening stage.

When to check a doctor

You will seemingly have your blood pressure taken as a part of a routine doctor’s appointment.

Ask your doctor for a blood pressure reading a minimum of each 2 years beginning at age twenty. He or she's going to seemingly advocate a lot of frequent readings if you've got already been diagnosed with high blood pressure or alternative risk factors for cardiovascular disease. youngsters age three and older can sometimes have their blood pressure measured as a part of their yearly checkups.

Causes

There are 2 forms of high blood pressure. Primary (essential) hypertension. for many adults, there’s no identifiable reason behind high blood pressure. this sort of high blood pressure, known as essential hypertension or primary hypertension, tends to develop gradually over a few years.

Secondary hypertension: Some individuals have high blood pressure caused by an underlying condition. this sort of high blood pressure tends to look suddenly and cause higher blood pressure than the first hypertension. varied conditions and medications will cause secondary hypertension, including: Kidney issues, Adrenal gland tumors, sure defects in blood vessels, sure medications, like contraception pills, cold remedies, decongestants, over-the-counter pain relievers and a few {prescription medicine|prescribed drugs|pharmaceuticals} and illegal drugs, like cocaine and amphetamines

Risk factors

High blood pressure has several risk factors, including: Age, race, family history. High blood pressure tends to run in families, being overweight or obese, not being physically active, using tobacco. Others are an excessive amount of salt (sodium) in your diet, too very little potassium in your diet, too very little vitamin D in your diet, drinking an excessive amount of alcohol, stress, sure chronic conditions and generally pregnancy contributes to high blood pressure, as well.

Complications

The excessive pressure on your artery walls caused by high blood pressure will injury your blood vessels, similarly as organs in your body. the upper your blood pressure and also the longer it goes uncontrolled, the bigger the injury. Uncontrolled high blood pressure will cause Heart attack or stroke.

Increased blood pressure will cause your blood vessels to weaken and bulge, forming an aneurysm.

To pump blood against the upper pressure in your vessels, your heart muscle thickens. Eventually, the thickened muscle might have a tough time pumping enough blood to fulfill your body’s desires, which might cause heart failure.

Weakened and narrowed blood vessels in your kidneys will stop these organs from functioning normally.

Thickened, narrowed or torn blood vessels within the eyes may result in vision loss.

Metabolic syndrome may be a cluster of disorders of your body’s metabolism — together with increased waist circumference, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high insulin levels. If you've got high blood pressure, you're a lot of seemingly to possess alternative elements of metabolic syndrome.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure conjointly might have an effect on your ability to suppose, keep in mind and learn. hassle with memory or understanding ideas is a lot of common in those that have high blood pressure.

Tests and diagnosis

Blood pressure is measured with an inflatable arm cuff and a pressure-measuring gauge. A blood pressure reading, given in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), has 2 numbers. The first, or higher range measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats (systolic pressure). The second, or lower, range measures the pressure in your arteries between beats (diastolic pressure).

Blood pressure measurements fall into four general categories: traditional blood pressure. Your blood pressure is traditional if it’s below 120/80 mm Hg. However, some doctors advocate 115/75 mm Hg as a stronger goal. Once blood pressure rises higher than 115/75 mm Hg, the danger of cardiovascular disease begins to extend.

*Prehypertension may be a systolic pressure starting from a hundred and twenty to 139 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure starting from eighty to eighty nine mm Hg. Prehypertension tends to induce worse over time.

*Stage one hypertension may be a systolic pressure starting from a hundred and forty to 159 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure starting from ninety to ninety nine mm Hg.

*More severe hypertension, stage two hypertension may be a systolic pressure of one hundred sixty mm Hg or higher or a diastolic pressure of a hundred mm Hg or higher.

Both numbers during a blood pressure reading are necessary. however once age fifty, the systolic reading is even a lot of important. Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) — when diastolic pressure is traditional however systolic pressure is high — is that the commonest style of high blood pressure among individuals older than fifty.

Your doctor might advocate routine tests, like a urine check (urinalysis), blood tests and an electrocardiogram (ECG)

Lifestyle and residential remedies

Lifestyle changes will assist you management and stop high blood pressure — even though you're taking blood pressure medication. Eat healthy foods by applying the Dietary Approaches to prevent Hypertension (DASH) diet, that emphasises fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods. Get lots of potassium, which might facilitate stop and management high blood pressure. Eat less saturated fat and total fat.

* Decrease the salt in your diet. Although 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium every day is that the limit for otherwise healthy adults, limiting sodium intake to one,500 mg every day can have a a lot of dramatic impact on your blood pressure.

* Maintain a healthy weight.

* Regular and Increased physical activity will facilitate lower your blood pressure and keep your weight below management. try for a minimum of half-hour of physical activity every day.

* Limit alcohol. even though you’re healthy, alcohol will raise your blood pressure. If you select to drink alcohol, do thus sparsely — up to at least one drink every day for ladies and everybody over age sixty five, and 2 drinks every day for men.

* Don’t smoke. Tobacco injures blood vessel walls and races the method of hardening of the arteries. If you smoke, raise your doctor to assist you quit.

* Manage stress. scale back stress the maximum amount as attainable. apply healthy coping techniques, like muscle relaxation and deep respiratory. obtaining lots of sleep will facilitate, too.

* Monitor your blood pressure at home. Home blood pressure monitoring will assist you keep nearer tabs on your blood pressure, show if medication is functioning, and even provide you with a warning and your doctor to potential complications. If your blood pressure is below management, you will be ready to create fewer visits to your doctor if you monitor your blood pressure at home.

* apply relaxation or slow, deep respiratory. apply taking deep, slow breaths to assist relax. There are some devices accessible that may facilitate guide your respiratory for relaxation; but, it’s questionable whether or not these devices have a major impact on lowering your blood pressure

Hypertension at a look

•High blood pressure (hypertension) is designated as either essential (primary) hypertension or secondary hypertension and is outlined as a consistently elevated blood pressure exceeding 140/90 mm Hg.

•High salt intake, obesity, lack of normal exercise, excessive alcohol or low intake, and smoking might all adversely have an effect on the outlook for the health of a personal with hypertension.

•Poorly controlled hypertension ultimately will cause injury to blood vessels within the eye, thickening of the center muscle and heart attacks, hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis), kidney failure, and strokes.

•Heightened public awareness and screening of the population are necessary to detect hypertension early enough thus it will be treated before crucial organs are broken.

•Lifestyle changes in diet and exercise and compliance with medication regimes are necessary factors in determining the end result for individuals with hypertension.

•The goal of therapy for hypertension is to bring the blood pressure right down to 140/85 within the general population and to even lower levels in diabetics, African Americans, and other people with sure chronic kidney diseases.

•Screening, diagnosing, treating, and controlling hypertension early in its course will considerably scale back the danger of developing strokes, heart attacks, or kidney failure.