‘30 million Nigerians live with high blood pressure’

Professor Balarabe Sani Garko of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, Zaria yesterday said about 30 million Nigerians are living with high blood pressure.

He stated this while delivering a lecture titled, “Hypertension, Detection, Evaluation and Non-Pharmacologic Intervention” at

a seminar to raise awareness on hypertension organised by the University Health Services.

Garko, who is also the Vice President, Medical Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, said the statistics was obtained by a study that was recently conducted in teaching hospitals across the country.

He said high blood pressure remains one of the primary factors responsible for slumping and subsequent collapse of many Nigerians.

The professor identified environmental and genetic factors as major causes of hypertension and listed thinking, inadequate sleeping, high intake of salt, lack of physical exercise and malfunction of heart or kidney as other causes.

He advised Nigerians to avoid indiscriminate intake of traditional medicine, saying that such might affect the heart or kidney.

Vice Chancellor of ABU, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, represented by Dr Nana Hauwa’u Madugu, head of the university’s health services, said it was observed that many Nigerians are not aware that they are hypertensive, and as such do not bother to visit health centres to ascertain their health status.

“In view of this, we feel it is important to conduct free tests, which would continue for a period of time,” the V-C said.