A medical officer with Zenith Kidney Centre, Dr. Nomso Benedict has alerted that more young Nigerians are coming down with hypertension. According to the physician, the increase in the number of young people with hypertension could be responsible for the spike in cases of kidney disease.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise in an interview, Benedict said the nation should do more on awareness to reduce the incidence of hypertension. He said that there is an increase in the incidence of kidney disease generally.
He, however, noted that more cases of kidney conditions are now seen among young people.
“The most common cause of kidney disease is diabetes and hypertension and hypertension is becoming more common in young people.
“We are beginning to see more young people with hypertension and because it is a disease they might not know they have they can keep going until their kidneys are already bad as a result of hypertension,” he said.
Benedict also stated that the lifestyle of young people could be predisposing them to hypertension.
“In young people, we are seeing a pattern. For some, it is their family history, the kind of meals they eat, eating fewer fruits and vegetables, and also engaging in less physical exercise,” he said.
He noted that while hypertension caused by family history cannot be helped, he urged young people to reduce sedentary lifestyles, eat healthily, and engage in exercises.
Benedict also stressed that it is important for young people to conduct regular health checks, especially blood pressure measurements because hypertension most times comes without symptoms.
“Unfortunately, most people don’t have any symptoms when they have hypertension. So, people just go about with their normal lives with hypertension without knowing because they have no symptoms.
“It is when the blood pressure is very high that some people have headaches or sleeplessness. Headache is, however, the most common symptom.
“They might feel their heart beating too fast, they might feel their legs are swelling. They may feel weak. But, most of the time, hypertension has no symptoms,” the medical officer stressed.
source: HealthWise
