By Adekunle Yusuf
To refocus public attention and inspire action around individual health and wellbeing, 9Mobile, a leading telecoms service providers, has held its second virtual health talk.
The series, with the theme, “Responding to the rising challenge of hypertension in a pandemic depressed world,” warned that hypertension is a silent killer.
Facilitated by a seasoned medical practitioner and health brand strategist, Dr. Juliet Offiah, the live session on Instablog9ja was packed with insights about the silent killer.
According to Offiah, most people with hypertension are unaware of the problem because sometimes it has no warning signs or symptoms. Unfortunately, by the time they realiSe this, it may have caused significant damage. While there are no known causes of hypertension, she explained that there are identifiable risk factors closely associated with the disease, which she classified into two: modifiable and non-modifiable factors.
According to her, the modifiable risk factors are behavioral patterns within the control of an individual such as excessive consumption of alcohol, abuse of drug and unhealthy lifestyle; while non-modifiable factors are beyond the control of an individual such as aging process, racial background, family history, etc.
She explained that, the condition can be effectively managed with the right medication and a change in lifestyle.
She identified some of the preventive measures as reduction in salt intake, consumption of more fruits and vegetables, avoiding the use of tobacco, reduction in alcohol consumption, limiting the intake of foods high in saturated fats and regular physical exercise. The facilitator also went on to highlight the importance of cutting down on stress level, checking blood pressure readings regularly and observing a disciplined regiment of prescribed medications as helpful measures in managing hypertension.
Currently, about 1.5billion people suffer from hypertension globally, with 7.6million deaths attributed to the medical condition. Sadly, Africa is the worst hit due to poverty and a lack of awareness and poor access to quality healthcare. The global Coronavirus pandemic is said to have also impacted on the numbers of emerging cases of hypertension across continents, as people battle with stress and mental health, with global and local medical healthcare resources remaining largely focused disproportionately on containing COVID-19.
In responding to the challenges highlighted, Offiah recommends the adoption of telemedicine, training and expansion of community health workers and exploring partnerships that will help patients to access information real-time.
“Telemedicine has come to stay; people should be able to have access to health services virtually especially during this pandemic. Telemedicine will help healthcare systems around the world a great deal to keep health records of patients. This way, we are able to keep track and retrieve data easily,” she said.
Executive Director, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile, Abdulrahman Ado, said : “We decided to put the spotlight on the subject of hypertension because of the worrying trend we are beginning to see. At 9mobile, we will continue to drive initiatives that improve the quality of life of Nigerians through sensitization and collaborations, which informed our partnership with award-winning telemedicine provider Mobihealth International to enable more Nigerians access care virtually from the safety and comfort of their homes.”
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