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[FILE] A pulse oximeter is attached to a patient’s finger to monitor oxygen intake within the body, at EHA Clinics in Abuja, Nigeria, January 14, 2021.
The Gauteng Department of Health says it is concerned about a growing number of hypertension cases, particularly among adults under the age of 45.
The department says more than 69 000 new hypertension cases were recorded in the province in the past year, with over 26 000 of those involving younger adults.
Officials say hypertension, often referred to as the “silent killer”, remains a leading cause of stroke, heart disease and kidney failure because symptoms are often not immediately noticeable.
The World Health Organisation says hypertension affects more than one billion people globally and is one of the leading causes of premature death.
The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says awareness and prevention remain critical.
“Hence a caution yesterday, as it were, uh, the world was actually commemorating as what we call World Hypertension Day, meaning that we must be preventative, you know, focused on awareness to say people need to understand that hypertension was termed the silent killer because their symptoms are not glaring. By the time you realise you are probably too ill or you might even succumb to hypertension. So that’s why we are more on awareness more than anything.”
Mabona says lifestyle factors are among the major contributors to rising cases, especially among younger adults.
“The stress element, because it’s definitely, it’s lifestyle. and people, we don’t uh exercise, we are not, uh, you know, physically, uh, inclined, uh, there’s obesity.”
“And then the intake of sodium sometimes becomes a challenge for us.”
The department says excessive alcohol consumption, high salt intake, obesity, physical inactivity and stress continue to contribute to the increase in hypertension cases.
Mabona added, saying, “We need to look at our lifestyle and make sure that all those that I have just mentioned, we do, I mean, like for instance excessive use of alcohol, we need to reduce that and also other people will just consume a lot of salt, so we need to eliminate the use of salt, so its important to be more calculative.”
According to the Southern African Hypertension Society, regular blood pressure screening, healthy eating, reduced salt intake and exercise are important in preventing and managing hypertension.
Mabona says the department is expanding community awareness campaigns and screening programmes to improve early detection.
In SA, more than 1 in 3 adults live with high blood pressure
