President of the Nigeria Hypertension Society (NHS), Prof. Ayodele Omotoso, has said one in every three Nigerians was hypertensive.
Omotoso, who made the claim in a press statement issued to mark the World Hypertension Day (WHD), explained that studies conducted by the Society in 2018 indicated that hypertension was present in one-third of the population. He said the research also showed that only half of the population was aware of being hypertensive, while only 18 per cent of all hypertensives had their blood pressure controlled.
According to him, hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, was the number one cause of preventable death worldwide.
Omotoso, a cardiologist at the Department of Medicine, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, described hypertension as a condition in which there was sustained elevation of blood pressure.
He said that the blood pressure was usually above a threshold of 140 mmHg systolic and 90 mmHg diastolic in an adult. The NHS president lamented that the proportion of Nigerians with hypertension was high, while awareness, treatment, and control rates were low despite the availability of potent drugs.