By Stella Kabruk
Kaduna – A medical practitioner, Dr Nuhu Yusuf, on Tuesday advised Nigerians to check their blood pressure regularly to reduce the risk of sudden death.
Yusuf of the Jamik Medical Center gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
He said that regular checking of blood pressure is important to avoid stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and sudden death.
“High blood pressure is a silent killer because it often has no symptoms and goes undetected in a high percentage of people.
“Untreated high blood pressure can damage and weaken your arteries.
“Regular checking of blood pressure gives you accurate idea of the typical pressure.
“The higher your blood pressure is, the higher the risk of health problems in the future.
“Checking your blood pressure regularly helps to prevent hypertensive heart diseases,“ he said.
He said blood pressure should be checked regularly because it is a barometer of health.
“If your blood pressure is high, it is putting extra strain on your arteries and on your heart,’’ he said.
Yusuf said that blood monitoring at home could be helpful in addition to regular monitoring at a health care provider’s office.
He said monitoring high blood pressure at home helped to determine whether treatments were working.
“When you check your blood pressure regularly, it can be high or low.
“When it is high, you eat better diet which includes reducing salt,’’ he said.
Yusuf said that lifestyle modification was essential to reducing high blood pressure.
“Adopting healthy life style is critical for the prevention of high blood pressure and part of managing it,“he said.(NAN)