And death struck again. It was at a Christian wake keep in an atmosphere already saturated with sorrow and faces wearing a forlorn look. The deceased Mr. Rotimi who had died after a long battle with cancer was a man of the people from Kogi State.
As the service went on the choir mounted the rostrum to dish out songs in honour of the deceased, then death crept in like a tiger to pounce on its prey. And death struck again. This time a member of the choir Mr. Tunji was the victim. It was reported that as they were singing, his tongue started twisting and before help could reach him he collapsed with the left side of his body paralyzed and there and then he died. Investigations revealed that Mr. Tunji was hypertensive but he never gave it the requisite attention it deserved until the time of his death.
This is the story of many Nigerians today and what saddens the heart is the height of ignominy that pervades the Nigerian society on this red-eyed beast HYPERTENSION. A lot of awareness has been created to this effect on the need for people to monitor their blood pressure level but it seems that the more the sensitization the more people fall victim to this harbinger of death.
The reason for the many casualties from Hypertension is not farfetched. One of the reasons for the untimely death of people from hypertension is ignorance. Many people are unaware of their blood pressure level until the time of their eventual death and for those who are still alive, many organs in their body-like the kidney would have been damaged, leading to a life of painful existence till they eventually die.
Another reason that has led to the death of many as a result of hypertension is un-conscientiousness. A lot of Nigerians are careless when it comes to the issue of their health; the sloppiness with which they attend to their health is shocking. We forget that it is the soundness of our health that determines the level of our productivity. Some are unrepentantly nonchalant when it comes to checking their blood pressure level. Most people are aware of the danger that high blood pressure poses but they fail to pay careful attention to it. Even when medical personnel have called their attention to it they still turn a blind eye to only to later bear the consequences of their actions and inactions leaving their family to suffer the pain of loss.
Unhealthy diet and lifestyle have also contributed to the increase in the number of Nigerians living with hypertension. According to WHO’s Global status report on non-communicable diseases 2010, the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria is estimated at 46% of adults aged 25 and above. This high level of prevalence is due to the diet and unhealthy lifestyle of Nigerians and many are still yet to renege on their hurtful lifestyle.
Tackling this forerunner of death requires that you place value on your life; you look for value, so the first step is to know your blood pressure level and make a habit of monitoring it from time to time. Creating the habit is quite easy all you need to do is get an Omron blood pressure monitor and you can do it yourself without any help from a medical personnel. If only we dedicated time to religiously checking our blood pressure and duly adjusting our lifestyle we would have successfully fenced off this red-eyed beast from consistently snatching away loved ones from our fold.