Hypertension high among urban population— Study

The prevalence of hypertension among urban population is pegged at 54.6 percent against rural prevalence of 19.3 percent.

This statistic was contained in a review of population-based studies on hypertension in Ghana by a team of researchers through the search of the PUBMED database, supplemented by a manual search of bibliographies of the identified articles and through the Ghana Medical Journal.

Findings of the data extracted using data collection forms indicated that the prevalence of hypertension was higher in urban than rural areas in studies that covered both types of area and increased with increasing age.

They also found out that hypertension is associated with high blood pressure included increasing body mass index, increased salt consumption, family history of hypertension and excessive alcohol intake.

“The levels of hypertension detection, treatment and control were generally low (control rates ranged from 1.7 percent to 12.7 percent),” the research showed.

The research concluded that an increased burden of hypertension should be expected in Ghana as life expectancy increases with rapid urbanisation.
“Prevention and control of hypertension in Ghana is, thus, imperative and any delays in instituting preventive measures would most likely pose a greater challenge on the already overburdened health system,” the findings concluded.

World Hypertension Day

May 17 is marked as World Hypertension Day to increase awareness for improved health service to those suffering high stress levels at work and sedentary lifestyles.

Themed ‘Know Your Numbers’, World Hypertension Day is aimed at increasing awareness about high blood pressure (BP) within all populations around the world.

The International Society of Hypertension, marking the day, disclosed how important it was to keep a tab on numbers, stressing that without adequate detection and control, that would translate into a higher incidence of stroke and other adverse health outcomes for which hypertension is an established risk factor.

High blood pressure or hypertension is a silent enemy; it manifests itself quietly and wreaks much havoc undetected. It is estimated that the number of hypertensive adults will increase from 972 million in 2000 to 1.56 billion in 2025, leading to a rise of about 60 percent— out of which around 10 percent of the population suffers from secondary hypertension—caused by a pre-existing disease.

Normal blood pressure is defined as an average reading no higher than 120/80 mm Hg. A readings of 140/90 or higher is considered high blood pressure, and anything in between is considered ‘pre-hypertension’, which does not show any clear symptoms.

However, severe hypertension shows signs of headaches, sleepiness, palpitation, blurred vision, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, ringing sensation in the ears, breathing difficulty and irregular heartbeat which may even lead to coma.