Professor Adebayo Adeyemi, the Director of scientific affairs, Nigerian Heart Foundation, has advocated for the teaching of medical education in our schools as part of efforts to control hypertension and other deadly ailments afflicting people all over the world.
Professor Adeyemi, who featured on Monday on Splash FM, Ibadan’s “talking point” observed that lack of knowledge of the medical history of many families has not assisted the medical world, particularly in Nigeria and some African countries in tackling and controlling ailments among the people.
He said when a family is abreast of its medical history, especially the prevailing medical issues that had resided in the family for generations, controlling such medical issues will definitely be easier and fewer deaths at a young age will be controlled.
Noting that the 17th of May every year has been classified as “World Hypertension Day”, Professor Adeyemi said the essence of the classification of the day was to draw the attention of the whole world to the threat of hypertension to the survival of mankind. Describing hypertension as a “silent killer”, Professor Adeyemi said about 1.6billion people are affected all over the world.
He observed that while hypertension patients in many developed countries seek early medical attention, most Nigerians never bothered about their health status.
He lamented that most Nigerians tend towards self-medication, while primary health care that should be readily available is virtually non-existent.
He noted that the theme of the Hypertension Day “measure your blood pressure, control it, live long” is intended to create awareness of the deadly effect of hypertension on mankind. Tobacco, alcohol, stress, noise pollution, depression, processed food, financial situation, insecurity are some of the factors that could trigger hypertension and consequently lead to early death or midwife other diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
He advised people to go for a medical check on their blood pressure at least once a month to prevent unwarranted death. Adeyemi, who is a former Chairman of the Governing Council of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, also observed that people in the rural areas are more prone to sudden death from hypertension due to inadequate medical facilities.
