Hypertension which is caused by unhealthy diets and physical inactivity is linked to increased risk of stroke, heart attacks and kidney disease. Emerging research also links hypertension to increased risk of Covid-19 severity and mortality.
Ghana Health Service yesterday released some information on the Covid-19 fatalities revealing that for 20 out of the 28 deaths recorded, hypertension was listed as an underlying condition.
Statistics from the Ghana Health Service indicate that hypertension has consistently been in the Top 10 leading causes of outpatient morbidity in Ghana in the past decade. Hypertension was also the leading cause of institutional mortality in 2017.
According to WHO, hypertension is one of the major causes of premature across the world with a two-thirds of hypertension cases being in developing countries and fewer than 1 in 5 cases having the condition under control. Managing blood pressure involves dietary changes, regular exercise and consistent monitoring of blood pressure.
The theme for this year's hypertension is "Know Your Number" to highlight the importance of measuring and monitoring blood pressure. High blood pressure is defined as a
systolic blood pressure equal to or above 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood
pressure equal to or above 90 mm Hg.