Plenty people for Africa get high blood pressure. If you count five of them, you fit no even see one person wey don fit control am. But e get wetin you fit do to change this matter.
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High blood pressure (or ‘BP’) no dey show sign until e don already spoil something for person body, so most people wey get am no know say dem get am. Now, na one of the sickness wey plenty pass for Africa.
For Africa, up to 44% of adults wey dey between 30 and 79 years get high blood pressure. For most countries, e no reach half of them wey don go meet doctor make e confirm say dem get am, and out of every five, you fit no even see one wey manage get am under control.
E plenty for the Caribbean islands too. For Jamaica, 33.8% of people wey don reach 15 years get am, and for Barbados, 40.7% of adults wey don reach 25 years.
For America, 58% of Black adults get am, but for all adults together na 44.5%.1
Most people no dey feel anything, so you no fit use your body know whether you get am. But all that time, high BP dey damage your heart, your kidney and the small blood vessels for your brain, and na so e dey cause stroke. Go check am. Pharmacy, clinic and plenty work places dey check am free or for small money, and e no pass two minutes.
The machine go wrap one band round the top of your arm, wey dem dey call cuff, and e go squeeze until e feel say blood dey move. You go get two numbers. The top number na the pressure when your heart dey push blood. The bottom number na the pressure when your heart dey rest between beats.
Anything more than 140 over 90 mean say your BP too high. Na the line be that. African heart doctors no follow America bring am down to 130 over 80. But if you check for house, anything wey pass 135 over 85 don too high. This na because your BP suppose low for house pass when you come hospital. Just to dey inside hospital fit push your BP go up. That na wetin dem dey call “white coat effect”.
Plenty things fit raise your BP for few minutes: to climb stairs, to enter go slow, even to drink coffee. So one high reading no mean say you get high blood pressure. Na why experts for Africa talk say make dem check you three different times, for different days, inside four weeks.
When dem dey check you:
If you wan buy machine for house, buy the one wey get cuff for your upper arm, and carry am go clinic once make dem compare am with their own. Home machine for our side no dey always correct, so that one check dey important.
If your last reading normal or e near the line, make dem check am again before three years pass. If e near the line and health worker talk say your risk high, check am every year. If e don high before, your health worker go tell you how often.
African heart doctors talk three reasons. Plenty people never check am, so dem no know say dem get am. Some no fit get medicine, or dem stop to take am. For the rest, nobody check whether the treatment dey work.
Jamaica national health survey show how that last one fit spoil well well. For that survey, most people wey get high blood pressure know say dem get am, and most of them dey take medicine. But only about one out of every eight of them get safe blood pressure.
For treatment to work, e mean say health worker dey check your BP regular. Dem fit need to change the dose of your medicine until the BP come down. So anytime you go collect your medicine, ask wetin your reading be, and ask when dem go check am again.
If person for your family get high blood pressure, your own chance to get am high small. But family history na about you alone. E no fit explain why the whole country get am plenty like this.
For the 1990s, scientists check the BP of just over ten thousand adults wey their people come from West Africa, wey don reach 25 years. Dem use the same method for Nigeria, Cameroon, Jamaica, St Lucia, Barbados and United States of America.
The numbers climb as dem dey move: like 16% get high blood pressure for West Africa, 26% for the Caribbean and 33% for America. Everybody for the study get the same West African root, so that root no fit be the main reason. As the numbers dey increase from West Africa go reach America, na so people body weight dey increase, na so the salt wey dem dey chop dey high pass the potassium for their food.
If you look their age, you go confirm say no be about roots. For people wey their age na between 25 and 34 years, BP been dey almost the same for all the countries. The difference start to show as them dey old, and the difference been plenty pass for America.
But that one na 1990s. Since then, the difference from West Africa to America don flat. Later, scientists gather 1,201 studies wey cover 104 million people. Between 1990 and 2019, people wey get high blood pressure come down for rich countries. But for most poor countries, either e increase, or e no change.
Wetin people carry from their parents no change for those thirty years. Wetin change na wetin dem dey chop, their weight, which kind work them dey do and which health services dem fit use.
World Health Organization talk say make you no chop pass 5 grams of salt for one day, that na less than one teaspoon. Meanwhile the average Nigerian adult dey chop almost 10 grams, and the average adult for Ghana dey chop like 8. Almost everybody dey chop too much salt: 97% of Nigerian adults and 77% of Ghanaians.
The Nigerian study try locate where all that salt dey come from.
If you gather all the salt wey people dey chop for Nigeria, divide am into three, two for there na them carry hand put am for house, as dem dey cook or as dem sidon dey chop. Seasoning cube and spice mix na them carry salt pass. That one mean say, if you want reduce your salt, na your hand e dey o. Street food and restaurant food sef follow dey cause problem, as them carry like 25% of the salt wey Nigerians dey chop. Some raw foods get salt normally, but that one no even reach 10% of the salt wey Nigerians dey chop.
The other side of the matter na potassium, wey dey push BP go down. For Ghana, 65% of adults no chop reach wetin dem suppose chop. The 1990s study wey we dey talk since see the same thing: as the people wey get high BP number dey climb from West Africa reach America, salt follow go up and potassium follow come down.
This one no mean say you go cook wetin no get taste. Use pepper, garlic, ginger, onion, curry, and other spices, then start to reduce the seasoning cube small small dey come, make your tongue fit adjust. For potassium, chop more green vegetable like ugu and spinach, beans, pear (avocado) and fruits. Zobo wey no get sugar (hibiscus tea) follow for wetin African heart doctors recommend.
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Take your medicine every day, the same time, whether you feel fine or not.
If the medicine dey give you problem, tell your health worker before you stop am. Different different BP medicine dey, and e fit be say na another one go help your matter pass.
Keep record. As you dey check your BP for house, write the date and the BP for notebook or your phone, and carry am go anytime you get appointment. Your health worker go fit see wetin to carry help you if you give them plenty BP wey you don write, no be just the one wey you do for hospital.
Check your BP this month, and tell your family people make them check their own too.
Na the medicine make your BP normal. If you stop am without asking your health worker, the pressure go climb back, and you fit no feel am o.