HYPERTENSION EDUCATION

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.

Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

You can have high blood pressure for years without any symptoms. Even without symptoms, damage to blood vessels and your heart continues and can be detected. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke.

Dr. Alex Nana Djan, Medical Superintendent of Chirano Gold Mines Limited said these at a health education on Hypertension at Kwanikrom. Dr. Alex Nana Djan, Medical Superintendent of Chirano Gold Mines Limited said these during a Hypertension education organized by Sefwi Health Initiative (SHI) at Sefwi Kwanikrom on November 20, 2014.

Blood pressure is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body and hypertension is another term used to describe high blood pressure he said.

He explained that, Blood pressure readings are given as two numbers. The top number is called the systolic blood pressure. The bottom number is called the diastolic blood pressure.

Though the exact causes of hypertension are usually unknown, there are several factors that have been highly associated with the condition and it includes smoking, Obesity or being overweight, stress, sedentary lifestyle, high levels of salt intake and lack of physical activity he explained.

Dr. Alex Djan said there is no guarantee that a person with hypertension will present any symptoms of the condition and several people actually do not know that they have high blood pressure and this ignorance can last for years. For this reason, he advised the listeners to undergo periodic blood pressure screenings even when no symptoms are present.

He added that, extremely high blood pressure may lead to some symptoms and these include severe headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, problems with vision, chest pains, breathing problems and irregular heartbeat.

Dr. Djan explained that, hypertension may be diagnosed by a health professional who measures blood pressure with a device called a sphygmomanometer - the device with the arm cuff, dial, pump, and valve. The systolic and diastolic numbers will be recorded and compared to a chart of values. If the pressure is greater than 140/90, you will be considered to have hypertension.

The main goal of treatment for hypertension is to lower blood pressure to less than 140/90 - or even lower in some groups such as people with diabetes and people with chronic kidney diseases. Treating hypertension is important for reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure he explained.

He added that, high blood pressure may be treated medically or changing lifestyle factors or a combination of the two. Important lifestyle changes include losing weight, quitting smoking, eating a healthful diet, reducing sodium intake, exercising regularly, and limiting alcohol consumption.

If blood pressure is successfully lowered, it is wise to have frequent checkups and to take preventive measures to avoid a relapse of hypertension he advised.

Listeners who were already at the venue of the education were given coupons to enter into SHI Lucky draw before the programme begun. At the end of the event, two lucky winners, Kwaku Seidu and Kofi Asante both took away a hippo roller which was the ultimate prize. The remaining winners got themselves T-Shirts and SHI wrist bands.

Joseph William Anyan
Community Programme Coordinator