BLOOD pressure monitor available. Check my signature for number

NIGERIANS WAKE UP TO HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE EVERYDAY

In Nigeria’s megacity of Lagos, lifestyles resemble those of developed countries and hypertension is increasingly becoming a problem. Motunrayo Bello reports.

Joseph Otu (not his real name) found out about his blood pressure problem the hard way. Woken up in the middle of the night with a headache, he had difficulty speaking and felt weak on one side of his body. The 54-year-old Nigerian professional driver had no idea what was happening to him, but feared the worst.

His family took him to a clinic near his home in Ibafo in the sprawling megacity of Lagos, where a nurse checked his blood pressure.

Blood pressure readings are comprised of two values: one for systolic and one for diastolic pressure; anything equal to or above 140 over 90 is considered high. Otu’s stood at 175 over 110, a level at which he faced an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and kidney failure. “We started praying,” says Otu.

The fact that Otu had no idea about his blood pressure status before clinical diagnosis is not unusual. High blood pressure requires the heart to work harder than normal to circulate blood through the blood vessels. The symptoms of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, are not always obvious, which makes regular check-ups essential.