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Tag: Cardiologist

  • One out of 3 Nigerian adults is hypertensive – Cardiologist

    One out of 3 Nigerian adults is hypertensive – Cardiologist

    A Consultant Cardiologist, Prof. Simon Isezuo, says hypertension is a health disorder affecting one out of every three adults in the rural areas of the country.

    Isezuo stated this on Tuesday in a lecture titled ”Current Approach in the Management of Hypertension in Rural Settings”, presented at the Biennial Integrated Services Seminar organized by Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Kware in Sokoto State.

    Isezuo, a former Head of Department of Medicine, Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto (UDUS) and former Vice President of Nigerian Hypertension Society, urged practitioners to increase vigilance.

    He said it was important for practitioners to follow correct procedure in measurement of blood pressure, sociocultural barriers to BP control and cost-effective treatment and prevention.

    According to him, health workers needed to be updated on availability of apparatuses, dynamic situations and challenges of hypertension management.

    Dr Adebisi Adebayo, the Head of Clinical Services of the hospital, said the seminar was organized to build the capacity of health workers in the management of hypertension.

    Adebayo said the integrated services were incorporated in the hospital services to offer other specialist treatments, apart from psychiatric care. 

    He said the hospital currently host visiting consultants, who are specialists in different medical fields, working with resident doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other related health workers to provide efficient services to patients.

    “The hospital has world-class equipment such as mobile digital x-ray machine, mobile ultrasound machine, digitalized medical and diagnostic records system, occupational therapy equipment, and modern laboratory tools,” Adebayo added.

    Read Also: Eriksen unlikely to play football again, cardiologist says

    In his address, the hospital’s Medical Director, Prof. Shehu Sale, said the federal government had funded several projects in the hospital to enhance services to the public.

    Sale said that the projects included an intensive care unit, molecular laboratory, isolation center, family health clinic, accident, and emergency unit, and women and children drug-dependent treatment center.

    The medical director added that the total bed space and staff strength of the hospital had been increased, while all financial transactions and administrative records had been digitilised.

    Some of the participants, Dr Mutawakkilu Aliyu, the Medical Director of Kware General Hospital, and Nusaiba Adamu, a Nursing student at UDUTH, described the seminar as relevant and timely, and an opportunity to share experiences and ideas.

    (NAN)

  • Heart Disease: Death rate in men doubles after 40 – Cardiologist

    Prof. Janet Ajuluchukwu, College of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba says men have more heart problems than women with death rates doubling after age 40.

    Ajuluchukwu made this assertion while speaking withOur reporter in an interview on Saturday in Lagos.

    The professor said researches carried out proved that many men do not go to the hospital until too late and with late diagnosis, they were more prone to heart problems.

    The cardiologist stressed the need for men to go for regular checkups because conditions such as hypertension do not come with obvious signs.
    “Right now, my interest has gone to men because all over the world the men think that they are stronger.

    “There is this perception that they are strong and that they won’t go to the hospital.

    “They believe it is a sign of weakness to say they are sick and have gone to the hospital.

    “Many patients will come and beat their chest and say, for the last 40 years, I have not been to the hospital.

    “And I always tell them it is not responsible not to go to the hospital when you are sick.’’

    Ajuluchukwu noted that women were more proactive and would usually take advantage of the opportunities they had to have themselves checked whenever they visited the hospital.

    “Women have more opportunities. They take their mothers to hospital; they take their children to hospital; when they’re pregnant, they go for antenatal.

    “They’re always around the healthcare professionals, so they take advantage of it,” she stressed.

    She advised men to go for urine, blood pressure and sugar tests regularly.

    The cardiologist disclosed that healthcare professionals were searching for innovative ways targeted to reach out to men.

    She urged everyone to help persuade the men around them to go for regular checkups.

    “We want it to be everybody’s job. We have mothers, we have sisters and we have brothers. Let everybody try to encourage the men.”

  • 30m suffer hypertension, says cardiologist

    •As Lions Club marks 20th Anniversary

    A cardiologist with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr. Ehimare Iyayi, has said no fewer than 30 million Nigerians have hypertension.

    He spoke at the Lions Diamond Club’s 20th Anniversary held at the club’s secretariat, Ilupeju, Lagos.

    “Over 30million Nigerians are hypertensive. To live a healthy life, we need to pay attention to our heart. The heart is about the size of a fist. The heart pump blood to other parts of the body and problems that can affect heart can occur from birth. The common one is a hole in the heart, “he said.

    To prevent heart failures, Iyayi advocated regular medical check-up, exercises, low salt intake, moderation in alcohol consumption, and avoid cold drinks.

    The club’s President, Mrs. Olatundun Omoshaye, said since she came on board, the club has donated several materials to the needy. “I have spent one year of successful leadership with numerous awards.  I am in my second year of presidency and they made me a zonal chair for Zone B at district level. We were able to get three new members last year and we have two this year and three more are coming. The whole thing is service and we were even at Surulere where we did something for Pacelli Home for the Blind.

    This year, we have done two projects already. We did youths’ empowerment. At the end of August, we visited orphanage where we gave them food supplies worth over N100, 000. Our next activity is feeding the poor.

    ‘’I joined Lions in 2013. I was supposed to have joined long ago, but I was not interested then. It is good to serve people and God will be blessing you when you do. I want more people who want to usetheir talents to service people to join us,” she added.

  • Cardiologist raises the alarm on hypertension in youths

    The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos Executive Cardiovascular Clinic (LECC), Dr. Folasade Alli, has raised the alarm over the rate at which Nigerians are dropping dead in their prime as a result of heart-related problems.

    Dr. Alli disclosed that the problem is rampant among the youths in their 30s.

    “Unfortunately, there have been instances of young Nigerians dying with heart-related diseases, and number one cause on the list is the silent killer, hypertension. High blood pressure is not only on the increase, but has also gotten to an epidemic level. In my earlier years of practice, it (hypertension) was mostly an issue of the mature and old folk starting from 40, but today, this epidemic has shifted backward by, at least, a decade. Several younger Nigerians are dying today of the same problem. The first issue with the younger generation is the false and unwise belief that they are young, and thus, do not need to regularly check themselves; then the second issue is the fact that they are not taking preventive measures and, of course, the lack of public information on what these measures plays a major role. When told their blood pressure is high, some reply ‘I reject it’, but guess what? It is indeed high – there is nothing to reject because it is happening. The bottom line is that, this attitude needs to change”.

    The 53-year-old cardiologist added: “In those days, we used to have a definition of 40 but now we see 28 to 35 year old patients. We need to be our brothers’ keeper, we need to protect one another, and protect parents from unnecessary heartaches. My advice to the youth and young adults around their latter 20s and 30s is to engage with the literature on the cardiovascular epidemic sweeping across our country, maintain a relationship with a cardiologist, and develop healthy attitudes that can help combat hypertension. What you eat and drink matters. Adopt a healthy diet and reduce salt content in your food. Increase physical activity and maintain a healthy weight. Quit smoking and maintain a healthy attitude towards alcohol intake or simply avoid drinking alcohol altogether. Your stress level matters a lot too – for example, think about the health implication before you take a serious business decision – don’t attempt to whack a round brick into a triangular hole, it will stress you out! Also, we need to rid ourselves of nonchalant attitude towards our health. Together, we can avoid premature deaths.

    “Take food for instance. We have good fat and bad ones and these bad ones are the ones that stick to the walls of blood vessels. They thicken the blood vessels thereby causing the heart to pump harder. In simpler words, the buildup of junk in our blood vessels causes the heart to work harder than it ought to, and remember that already, the heart is the hardest working organ in the body.

    The blood vessels are very pliable but when you have bad fat that have settled on the wall of the vessels the vessel becomes thick, it hardens up. So when the heart pumps, it is pumping against a high resistance; so all these things contribute to rising blood pressure.”

     

  • Stroke: Early identification of symptoms prevents loss of life – expert

    A cardiologist, Dr Afolabi Akinkunmi, on Sunday in Lagos said that early identification of risk factors of stroke remained the best way of preventing the life threatening illness.
    Akinkunmi, President, Association of Residents Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that stroke was also known as a cerebrovascular accident.
    According to him, the risk factors of stroke include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking as well as advancement in age and heart valve disease.
    He said: “Stroke occurs when a part of the brain loses its blood supply to a part of the body; blood is deprived of that area and brain cells control stops working.
    “A stroke is a medical emergency which can happen to anyone; however, the older you are, the higher the risk and stroke can lead to death or permanent disability.
    “When the signs of stroke appear, time is of the essence to diagnose it because the longer a stroke remains unrecognised and un-treated, the longer brain cells are deprived of oxygen-rich blood.
    “As such, it is important to identify the signs and risk factors, in order to prevent stroke.’’
    On the symptoms of stroke, the cardiologist said there may be no warning signs of a stroke until it occurs.
    “That is why high blood pressure, one of the risk factors for stroke, is called the silent killer.
    “Other symptoms like speech, vision, balance, and coordination loss, helps the health care professionals locate the part of the brain that has stopped working,’’ he said.
    According to him, strokes are also often described based on the function of the body that is lost, as well as by the area of the brain that is affected.
    The cardiologist also spoke on the most common treatment to administer on a stroke patient.
    “Drug therapy with blood thinners, airways breathing and circulation to make the patient breathe are recommended.
    “Also, ensuring that the patient gets adequate blood pressure is a common treatment for someone that has stroke,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • Cardiologist cautions Nigerians on heart diseases

    Cardiologist cautions Nigerians on heart diseases

    NIGERIANS have been advised to be conscious of what they eat and drink to minimise the risk of heart-related diseases.

    A cardiologist based in the United States (U.S.), DrSabu George, yesterday alerted that many of staple food and beverages being consumed are prone to heart-related diseases.

    He listed them as: bread, pounded yam, noodles, sugar, Coca Cola, Fanta, Pepsi, Seven Up and cassava, among others.

    Dr George said that consuming the identified items on regular bases is dangerous to health as it could leads to cardiovascular-related diseases.

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels.

    George spoke at the opening of three-day free health screening programme tagged: “Medical Mission” organised by the Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos.

    According to him, most cardiovascular-related diseases could be controlled, if detected at the early stage.

    His words:  “Cardiovascular diseases are a silent killer, and if not detected at the early stages, the sufferer is at high risk and can lead to sudden death. It is more expensive to treat the ailment and cheaper to prevent it by maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise, checking cholesterol, avoiding too much of carbohydrates and sugar.

    “We can avoid cardiovascular diseases by eating less of carbohydrates, but more of vegetables and drinking more water than fizzy drinks.

    “We will ensure that any person detected to have such ailment will be given proper care by providing free treatment and there will be regular consultations, to monitor the patients.”

    The cardiologist, a Nigerian, who has resided in the U.S. for more than two decades urged Nigerians to eat more of moinmoin, vegetable, melon soup and other soups.

    Moinmoin, he said, is almost a complete meal because it doesn’t have side effects.

    The council’s Sole Administrator, MrOlumideOlayomi, said the free health screening was aimed at helping the sufferers of heart-related diseases and other ailments.

    Olayomi said the programme was initiated to encourage the residents to know their health status.

    The council chief said: “The purpose of this year’s programmeorganised by the council and the National Sports Lottery Foundation is to help people in the community to know their health status and to also receive adequate treatment.

    “The health of people in the community is critical to the progress of this local council development area, because it will boost our economy because healthy people are always productive.

    Olayomi said that many people were expected to benefit from the exercise, after which any critical health issues would be referred to the general hospitals and teaching hospitals, for further treatment.

    He said: “The major aspect of this exercise is the dedication to capacity building development. The expert will teach our doctors and nurses on the basic cardiovascular health issues.’’

    Wife of Lagos State Governor Mrs. BolanleAmbode hailed Olayomi for the bold initiative to further boost the effort of the state government in the health sector.

    Mrs. Ambode said government realises the necessity of good health, hence placed premium on healthy atmosphere.

    She said: “The health of the people is their wealth because how healthy the people are, will directly determine the scope and extent of their productivity whether as government employees or staff of corporate concerns.

    ”The government’s attention to the medical needs of its workforce and residents of the state is evident in the continuous improvement of health infrastructure in the state.”

    Former Secretary to the Lagos State Government Princess AderenleAdeniran-Ogunsanya commended the council chair for the giant step taken.

    “If you put the right people in the right place especially those with better exposure, Nigeria will move forward. The council being the nearest to the people could help drive government’s healthy living campaign,” she said.