How to prevent hypertension - Medical expert

By Sade Oguntola - 27.03.2008

A medical expert, Dr. Babatunde Salako, has said that the only way people can prevent dying from hypertension and other related problems such as stroke is for them to ensure they take their medication regularly.

Dr. Salako, a nephrologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, gave the advice on Tuesday at the monthly training of staff members of the African Newspapers (ANN) Plc. He said except they took to the instructions of their doctors on medication, an increased high blood pressure would continue to damage internal organs and they might experience stroke, kidney failure or even sudden death.

While there is a tendency for people's blood pressure to go up because of work or marital stress as well as age, Dr. Salako cautioned that people, as they reach the age of 40, should regularly monitor their blood pressure.

He stated that when high blood pressure set in, though there are no symptoms, the increasing blood pressure would continue to damage important organs in the body such as the kidneys and heart and that the implications of a damaged organ is great to good living. "From age 30, the blood pressure grows.

It has been shown scientifically that after the age of 55 in females and 58 to 60 in males, you have a 90 per cent risk of developing hypertension," he said.