- Those with hypertension tend not to do well with COVID-19- Dr. Oyejoko says during Platforms Africa e-Discourse
Health Policy analyst and Managing Director, Solomon Jayden Medical Centre, Dr. Akin OYEJOKO, is an accomplished Senior Medical Doctor whose sojourn in the practice spanned many years at both public and private hospitals in Nigeria and abroad. He featured as the lead discussant at the second e-Discourse organised by Platforms Africa, an ex-Community of Intellectuals, opinion leaders and policy moulders in Africa, where he dissected the relationship between High blood pressure and COVID-19. Here are the excepts of the explosively educative session moderated by Accra, Ghana-based veteran journalist, Mr. Francis KOKUTSE
What is the difference between hypotension and hypertension?
A person is said to have hypertension if the blood pressure is above the normal expected for the age, sex and race of that person. It could be mild hypertension ; slightly raised, moderate hypertension; significantly raised or severe hypertension; dangerously high blood pressure.
It could be primary hypertension. That is, hypertension not caused by another underlying diseases.
It could also be Secondary hypertension. That is hypertension caused by some other diseases such as a kidney, liver or heart disease.
Conversely, hypotension is blood pressure that is lower than what is expected for a person’s age, sex and race. It can also be mild, moderate and severe. And it could be primary or secondary.
In hypertension the blood pressure is too high , in hypotension the blood pressure is too low
Are they terminal ailments? Can someone suffer either of the two without knowing?
Yes, most people with hypertension are not aware. It usually doesn’t give much symptoms in the early days. That why we advice every adult to have their BP checked regularly. But they are not terminal diseases.
Is there any reason why people fail to go for the checks? Is it very expensive?
Basically most people do not believe they can be hypertensive , so they do not bother checking. another possible reason is ignorance.
Blood pressure check is free in most centres and it can be life saving.
A terminal disease by defination is a disease with no cure and eventually must lead to death. hypertension if managed well would not lead to death. it is ignoring and mismanaging hypertension that leads to complications and mortality.
Okay, are there links between high blood pressure and COVID-19?
Recent studies have shown that those with hypertension tend not do so well with covid-19.
Is it true that COVID-19 is usually more potent when contracted by someone with hypersension than someone with no pre-condition like hypertension?
Clinically, this is so because many of this people were not aware that they were hypertensive, some were aware but were poorly managed.
most of this people already had complications that were unattended. and with the viral attack, the system breaks down.
Let me quickly try to explain something about how the body works. the heart, the blood vessels, the kidneys, the liver and the lungs all influences the blood pressure. whenever, there is a problem they try collectively to solve it and they also compensate for each other. so, and insult to one is physiologically an insult to all.
How can people with hypertension improve health status during this period?
it is difficult to find an isolated organ failure without some degree of damage to some other organs.
The first thing is to make sure they keep themselves safe. and secondly make sure their blood pressure is controlled. By regularly checking it and taking their medications as prescribed.
Also stay away from self acclaimed cures and remedies.
Are there some foods that can help reduce the risk? Can you give some examples?
I understand there is no much time. am going to be careful on this, no particular food have been scientifically proven to cure or protect from this virus. though there have been a lot of things on the internet lately. What is clinically proven is this, more than anything else, this is a time to eat healthy, balanced diet.
Are people suffering from hypertension at high risk of contracting COVID-19?
we have found fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and minerals not available in our staple foods very helpful in building the body’s army and defense. So that the body and resist and fight any infection.
What is the relationship betwen hypertension and COVID-19?
Recent studies mostly from the USA shows that people with hypertension tend to be at a higher risk of getting the virus and needing intensive care. What we see in Africa is not exactly the same.
We see a situation where anybody can get the virus, and an obviously higher survival rate. I think as more African studies are made available, the pattern will become more obvious.
What are the major signs of hypertension? And what’s the relationship between work stress and hypertension?
Clinically, the common signs of hypertension includes, headache, sleeplessness, anxiety, chest pain, etc.
The commonest symptoms are headache and sleeplessness.
I have had hypertension for the past 20 years, are there any side effects from taking so much medication?
All forms of stress can lead to hypertension, when we are stressed, our body releases some hormones to help us cope. stress hormones. If the stress gets too much or if it lasts long enough then the blood pressure begins to rise.
Is it for sure that our mode of consumption and the way of life in Africa have something to do with high rate of hypertension?
All drugs have potential side effects, but taking hypertensive drugs in the right dose does not harm the body, but in fact , it protects the body from harms.
A friend told me to go for “Titration tests” because of the medication that l have been taking. Is that a useful advice?
I agree with you, most African eat food rich in carbohydrate and animal fat, this has been linked to high risk of heart, blood vessels and kidney disease.
Even though Africa is blessed with a huge variety of fruits and vegetables, for some reasons we do not consume them regularly as meals, instead we consume them occasionally as snacks.
I guess it also has to do with our sedentary lifestyle. We are becoming more and more armchair working people. We hardly go out to practice sports or do manual works.
another factor that can influence that result is the widely held believe that herbs and spirits can help better than the drugs and are even safer.
Titration test to find out if the drugs you have been taking were excreted completely or not. well, if you are feeling any symptom of drug overdose or you have suddenly developed some feelings you do not understand, please have it investigated. But by and large, those antihypertensives were formulated to be excreted by the body and cause no harm. And they were tested critically on this approval for public use.
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