By Ronke Aramide
Serious headache,aches in the ear to the neck and mouth region, strange tingling sensation (pajapaja) in the hands and legs,faster heart beat with pains sometimes, little or no sound sleep and restlessness sometimes? You have taken some medications (self prescriptions) but nothing has changed,hence you proceed to the hospital (as advised though),for your vitals to be checked,gbam,the doctor said your blood pressure is high.
We will be talking about HYPERTENSION. What is called hypertension? In a layman’s language,it is known as tension in your blood vessel,if you have a tension in your blood,it means, things are not moving the way it should be,this can be because either the blood vessel,the heart,or kidney itself is not well.Sometimes when the vein is so narrow or not wide enough for the passage of blood or there’s a blockage,may be from high cholesterol or any sickness from the heart,these and many more can lead to hypertension.
High blood pressure can happen when the force of your blood against the walls of the arteries is too high or hits hard ,it quietly harms the blood vessels and leads to health problems, that’s why it is called a silent killer.
Sometimes it may not be any of the aforementioned, having gone to the hospital for related tests and all came out negative,then hereditary hypertension which is known as essential hypertension is suspected, before you conclude that it is a spiritual attack or enemies from home(afise/aransi) please note that,no one can be attacked with hypertension but it can be inherited,if there’s traces in maternal or paternal blood line.
When you begin to have all the aforementioned signs and symptoms regularly,it is advisable to visit a physician where all necessary tests and checks are carried out, when it is established that the blood pressure is high,a 24hrs monitoring is instituted to ascertain and to confirm the person is truly hypertensive,hence treatment commences immediately by prescribing the appropriate medications for the patient.
The person is expected to visit the hospital regularly for check up and follow up,to know if the prescribed medicine is controlling the blood pressure and not causing other damages to the body.
Hypertension can be genetic, lifestyle choices,,age,gender, medical conditions and other risk factors such as race can cause hypertension, when the Diastolic is constantly above 120mmHg and Systolic above 80mmHg, it’s likely the person is hypertensive,if left untreated can lead to Heart Attack and Stroke.
Managing hypertension,starts with lifestyle changes,one needs to decrease salt intake, loosing weight if necessary,stop smoking if you do before, cutting down alcohol and having regular exercise coupled with the administration of the prescribed medicines.
Although,High Blood Pressure is known as silent killer but it doesn’t just kill except when it is neglected.If anyone is diagnosed to be hypertensive,it is not a death sentence but a pointer that one needs to be more careful about the health conditions.
People living with high blood pressure are advised to get themselves well hydrated,take apple juice where available,beet juice is also very good,milk(low or fat free), pomegranate juice etc are very helpful, choose whole and minimally processed food always, avoid high sodium foods, eat foods with herbs and spices rather than salt always.
If hypertension is well taken care of, it is very easy to live a beautiful life, but if otherwise,the consequences are very enormous and can be traumatic,it’s effect is very devastating and could make the sufferers beg for death. Hypertension is a disease of the blood and heart,high cholesterol blocking the free flow of blood is also a major cause of hypertension.
It is essential to take a moment out of our time to do proper medical checks and follow prescriptions judiciously.
