By Jet Stanley Madu
Consultant Nephrologist, Akinsipu Adedamola, has put the percentage of adult residents suffering hypertension in Lagos State at 29.2 per cent, based on a recent survey.
He said factors responsible for the high prevalence in hypertension were high consumption of junk food and carbonated drinks, among others.
Adedamola, who is Head of Clinical Services, Healing Stripes Hospital, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, pointed out that the reason meals prepared in fast food eatery outlets were delicious was due to use of seasoning.
“There’s no seasoning that does not contain sodium. Now, we know that one of the most integral reasons people suffer from high blood pressure is accumulation of salt and water in their body. So, if you end up accumulating salt in your body, and you’re not burning it, you’re at risk of having high blood pressure,” he said.
The physician gave these insights during Arise women’s walk in Lagos, where he led a team of about 10 medics to administer free health checks and care on over 300 persons.
Aside bad eating habits, the health expert also pinpointed poor health-seeking behaviour and non-physical exercise as contributory factors. He remarked that when people lack good health-seeking behaviour, the tendency was to live with diseases and ailments undetected.
On the consequences of hypertension, he said: “There is no part of the body blood does not get. Now, if blood is transmitted to every part of your body, that pressure will be transmitted to every part of the body too – from the hair strands to the toe nails. This is why hypertension can cause anything you can think of – stroke in the brain, blindness, heart attack, heart failure, slurred speech, weakness of one part of the body, kidney abnormalities, so many.”
The convener of the event, tagged: Walk for Life, Pastor Barrister Siju Iluyomade, said the essence was to help Nigerians imbibe the culture of keeping fit.
Also, he said it was designed to create awareness on the importance of regular health checks.
She indicated plan by the church to “throw the searchlight on healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” saying, “a lot of our people die needlessly just because they’re not looked after on a day-to-day basis.”
Iluyomade disclosed that participants received free health checks on prostate cancer, cervical cancer, high blood pressure and genotype.