Hypertension rates high among killer diseases

KEABETSWE NEWEL
Correspondent | Tuesday November 9, 2010 00:00

Amongst diseases that take the lives of Batswana is hypertension, commonly knows as High Blood Pressure (HBP).

The Merk Manual of Medical Information a medical book published at Merck Research laboratories, defines hypertension to be a generally symptom less condition in which abnormally high pressure in the arteries increases the risk of problems such as stroke, aneurysm, heart failure, heart attack and kidney damage.

The book notes that to many people, the word hypertension suggests excessive tension, nervousness or stress. In medical terms however, hypertension refers to a condition of elevated blood pressure, regardless of the cause. It has been called 'the silent killer' because in most cases it does not cause symptoms for many years until a vital organ in the body is damaged.

Dr Kgosi Mompati, a physician at Riverside Hospital, says HBP is a result of raised blood pressure, saying that it has two types, being the essential hypertension and the secondary hypertension.

According to Dr Mompati, essential hypertension there is no known cause unlike secondary hypertension that is caused by other diseases such as kidney diseases and heart diseases.

'Hypertension however can be caused by other diseases, obesity, smoking, kidney diseases and sedentary lifestyles. Excessive intake of salt is also identified as a major cause of hypertension in Botswana,' Mompati said.

Mompati said that in the western world, heart diseases, which are major causes of hypertension, are the commonest killers. 'In Botswana, AIDS has been said to be the number one killer, but hypertension comes second, since we have identified it as one of the diseases that halts people's lives,' he said.

According to Mompati, hypertension is a very deadly disease. 'Depending on the circumstances, if hypertension is not controlled and carefully monitored, it causes enlargement of the heart that leads to heart failure. It also affects blood, brain and heart vessels,' Mompati commented.

HBP in Mompati's opinion may also lead to blood clotting that causes blockage of vessels. He said that blockage of vessels leads to rupture, which will cause shortage of blood.

'If heart vessels are affected, one becomes prone to heart attack and angina or pains of the heart. When one's brain vessels are affected there would be shortage of blood supply to target organs, the brain in this case, stroke may also occur as a result,' explained Mompati.

Mompati said also that depending on the nature of the complications one may die or be left seriously incapacitated.

Frequent headaches, frequent menstruation, diabetes, heart related diseases and weakness of the body. The disease, according to Dr Mompati, is common amongst middle-aged and old people saying that it is because of their inability to be active thus leading sedentary lifestyles.

' Nowadays we see young people being affected by hypertension, mostly as a result of other diseases like heart failure. Although we lack statistics we commonly see hypertension amongst men, probably because of their obese stature and high intake of salt and smoking.'Mompati said.

Dr Mompati said that when one is diagnosed with hypertension, they face daily lifetime medication. He said that it also comes with restrictions like avoiding salt intake, stopping smoking, eating less fats, avoiding beef and that they have to exercise regularly which he said are called 'lifestyle modifications'.

However Dr Mompati said that Batswana are not well informed about hypertension.

'I feel there should be more provision of information to people about this disease. Education can be the prevention to hypertension. Most people would not eat lots of salts if they know that they are digging their own grave,' Mompati suggested.

He said regular checkups are a necessity, adding that early detection is better since it can help to treat the disease at its tender stage.'Prevention at an early stage, could avoid many complexities like kidney diseases vessels and brain damage, early inventions such as early lifestyle modification, regular exercise can also help avoid hypertension,' he concluded.