A general practitioner, Dr Olalekan Adelakun, discusses the risk factors and the management of hypertension in this interview with TOBI AWORINDEThe general hypertension we know is what is called systemic hypertension and that is an increase in the pressure with which the heart is working. The heart is a strong muscular pump and it pumps blood to every cell in our body. We have trillions of cells and every cell in our body is kept alive by blood coming from the heart, carrying oxygen and energy.
Some people may have a slight headache, feel their heart beating and say, ‘I have not slept well.’ They pop some aspirin, paracetamol or Valium. But those painkillers don’t bring the blood pressure down. So, essentially, we should look at hypertension as a silent killer. The only way for you to know if you are hypertensive or not is to check your blood pressure.
For most of these people, family history is common. If your father, mother or sibling is hypertensive, you should pay attention to your blood pressure. We are talking mostly about first-degree relationships, but it can even go to second-degree relationships, like your uncle or aunty, at times. That is where most of the people belong.
Then there is secondary hypertension, and that means there is a disease in the person’s body that is giving the person high blood pressure or hypertension. It can be due to hormonal problems. It can be due to kidney problems, blood pressure problems, or high cholesterol in the body. There are so many conditions that could cause that. Those ones, we call secondary hypertension.
Of course, there are lifestyle issues too; for instance, when you take too much salt and fried foods. There is also lack of exercise, common for people with sedentary lifestyle. There is obesity, and there is also abuse of drugs, especially some over-the-counter drugs that people just like to buy and use, like the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that could actually promote hypertension.
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