From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has advised Nigerians to imbibe the culture of healthy lifestyle in addition to healthy diet in order to enjoy healthy life free of diseases.
The Minister said that with such healthy practices, one can reduce the chances of cardiovascular disease and other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in low and-middle-income countries.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, on the occasion of World Hypertension Day with the theme “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer” the Minister said the focus of the global community has shifted to combatting low awareness, especially in low and middle-income countries that are responsible for nearly 80 per cent of the global cardiovascular disease burden, and on accurate blood pressure measurement methods.
The Minister who was represented by Dr. Mike Akpan, disclosed that more than one billion people worldwide are living with hypertension, and this represents more than 30 per cent of the adult population. “Of this figure, only 52 per cent are aware of their condition, while 35 per cent are on treatment, and less than 14 per cent have their blood pressure controlled.
“It’s worrisome that the burden of hypertension is disproportionately more in the low and middle-income countries in recent decades due to increase in risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and harmful alcohol consumption.
“The high burden is further accentuated by the high proportion of persons that are unaware of their condition, thus putting them at risk of avoidable medical complications and death.
“Therefore, public awareness creation, education, routine screening, early detection and diagnosis, counselling, and prompt provision of standard treatment and care to achieve long-term control are essentials for hypertension prevention and control, otherwise could lead to fatal complications such as heart disease, heart failure, stroke, blindness, chronic kidney failure, dementia, etc.”
The Minister, however, confirmed that government, over the years, has instituted several strategic interventions at the Tertiary, Secondary and Primary Health Care level with the targets of screening, at least, 80 per cent of eligible population and placing 80 per cent of people with hypertension on standard treatment and care.
“This will ensured that 80 per cent of those on treatment have their blood pressure sustainably controlled so as to avert complications, and contribute to achieving, at least, 25 per cent relative reduction in unconditional probability of dying prematurely from cardiovascular diseases and other NCDs.
“In addition to that, the healthy lifestyle interventions specified in the National NCDs Multi-Sectoral Action Plan importantly apply also. For those on treatment, avoid the temptation of stopping your medication and follow-ups without advice from doctor health care worker attending to you.”
Meanwhile, to reduce the chances of coming down cardiovascular disease, the Minister and the health care experts advocated regular physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes daily; avoiding tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke; staying away from alcohol; regular consumption of water.
Other suggestions include; eating healthy diet that contain a minimum of five servings of variety of fresh fruits and vegetables spread over each day, in addition to variety of whole grains, lean meat, fish, peas, beans, and lentils.
Similarly, avoid processed foods, limit salt intake to less than 5 grams (1 teaspoon) daily, and reduce dietary cholesterol and avoid industrially produced trans-fats. Another important step is know the numbers by regularly checking blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels.
Representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), Resolve To Save Lives (RTSL), AstraZeneca, Population Services International, University of Abuja (UniAbuja) Cardiovascular Research Unit, Nigerian Heart Foundation and other partners, also backed the suggestions of the Minister, and pledged to support the Federal Ministry of Health in its quest to reduce the burden of hypertension and other NCDs in Nigeria.
