One in three Nigerian men are hypertensive

High blood pressure – also known as hypertension – is twice
as high in Nigeria compared with other East African
countries and less than 20 per cent of Nigerians are aware
that they have the condition.
Hypertension puts people at risk of heart disease, kidney
disease and stroke.
The condition, already a massive hidden killer in Nigeria – is
set to sharply rise as the country adopts western lifestyles, a
study by University of Edinburgh suggests.
Researchers who conducted the first up-to-date nationwide
estimate of the condition in Nigeria warn that this will strain
the country's already-stretched health system, Andrew
Moffat of the university's press and PR unit said in a
statement today.
Increased public awareness, lifestyle changes, screening and
early detection are vital to tackle the increasing threat of the
disease, the researchers say.
Researchers estimated that there were more than 20 million
cases of hypertension in Nigeria in 2010, affecting one in-
three men and one-in-four women. This is set to rise to 39
million cases by 2030. Data from South Africa suggests that
high blood pressure is treated effectively in less than 10 per
cent of cases.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, who carried out the
study, say that understanding of hypertension in Nigeria and
other African countries has been affected by lack of patient
data.
Their findings have been published in the Journal of
Hypertension.
Dr Davies Adeloye, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre
for Population Health Sciences, said: "We have conducted a
systematic search of high quality studies on hypertension
across Nigeria and provided estimates of the prevalence and
number of cases of hypertension in the country. We hope
this will prompt appropriate policy response in the health
sector."


A full copy of the research paper can be viewed below
http://journals.lww.com/jhypertension/toc/publishahead
.