Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, has emerged as Nigeria’s most prevalent cardiovascular disease, silently affecting millions and exerting growing pressure on the nation’s healthcare system.
With prevalence rates estimated at between 22 and 44 per cent across regions, about 27 to 39 million Nigerian adults are believed to be living with the condition, many of them undiagnosed.
A cardiovascular disease researcher, Aminat Dosunmu, disclosed this in a report titled “Hypertension: Nigeria’s Silent Epidemic, an urgent call for national action.”
She noted that hypertension is often referred to as a “silent killer” because it rarely presents symptoms until it results in severe complications such as stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and sudden death.
Despite its widespread impact, public awareness remains low, at about 29 per cent, while treatment and effective control rates range between 12 and 33 per cent.
Health experts describe the trend as a looming public health emergency.
Recent data show that nearly one in three Nigerian adults has hypertension, yet fewer than half are aware of their status. Hospitals nationwide consistently list stroke and hypertensive heart disease among the leading causes of admission and death.
Experts attribute the rising burden to a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors, including excessive salt intake from processed foods, physical inactivity, obesity, harmful alcohol use, smoking and increasing socioeconomic stress. Poor access to healthcare, especially in rural communities, and low health literacy further hinder early diagnosis and treatment.
Dosunmu warned that the consequences of inaction are already evident.
“Hypertension is no longer just a medical issue; it is a development crisis for Nigeria,” she said. “When millions of adults live with uncontrolled high blood pressure, the impact extends beyond hospitals to families, workplaces and the national economy.
The tragedy is that hypertension is preventable, detectable and treatable, yet lives are still being lost daily.”
Experts stress that prevention requires both individual lifestyle changes and population-wide interventions.
Proven measures include reducing salt intake to less than five grams per day, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, engaging in at least 150 minutes of physical activity weekly, and limiting alcohol and tobacco use.
Community-based screening and sustained public awareness campaigns are also vital to improving early detection.
Some initiatives already demonstrate what is possible.
The Hypertension Treatment in Nigeria (HTN) programme, for instance, recorded treatment rates above 90 per cent and blood pressure control of about 50 per cent in participating centres by 2023, underscoring the feasibility of scalable solutions.
Consequently, experts are calling on the Federal Government to prioritise hypertension by strengthening primary healthcare, expanding free or subsidised blood pressure screening and medications, and establishing a National Blood Pressure Surveillance System aligned with the World Health Organization’s STEPwise approach. They also advocate increased investment in local research and real-time health data systems, such as DHIS-2, to guide policy and track progress towards 2030 targets.
“Hypertension control must begin where Nigerians live and work in communities and primary health centres, not only tertiary hospitals,” Dosunmu added. “With coordinated leadership, sustainable funding and data-driven action, Nigeria can reverse the trend of this silent epidemic.”
As hypertension continues to claim lives quietly, health advocates insist that urgent, coordinated national action is no longer optional, but imperative
