Experts associate rise in sudden deaths with hypertension

A consultant anatomic pathologist at the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja, Dr. Francis Faduyile, has said hypertension is the major cause of sudden deaths in the country.

Recent statistics showed that hypertension is the most common Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) in Nigeria and it affects about 40 per cent with approximately 25 per cent of emergency medical admissions in Nigerian hospitals.

Faduyile also pointed out that hypertension accounts for 10 per cent of deaths in hospitals and 44 per cent of sudden deaths.

He disclosed this at the General Assembly and Awards of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) and urged the people to embrace a healthy living so as to curtail the medical and socioeconomic implications of the disease.

APBN is an organisation of professional bodies whose main objective is to provide effective forum for transmitting the aggregate views of the nation’s professionals on matters of public interest to the government.

Recipients of the awards are: Aliyu Mohammed, Osikayo Ishola, Dr Kitchener Stephen and Okeke Joseph, who have made impact in their areas of expertise

“Everyone needs to be aware of cardiovascular diseases, which could result to sudden death. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) sudden death is non-violent and does not occur in less than 24 hours from the onset of symptoms.

“We found that hypertension kills suddenly. The heart just stops and that is why it is called heart attack. It is so common now that we have cases of 20, 22, 25 year-olds coming down with very severe hypertension and are dying,” Faduyile added. He, therefore, encouraged members of the public to live a healthy life by embarking on regular exercise and guiding against sedentary lifestyle.