Dr Ruth Osagie, a medical practitioner at Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, has advised hypertension patients to constantly take their prescribed drugs in order to manage the ailment.
Osagie gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.
She said that the medical condition was a silent killer when not properly managed.
The medical doctor decried the situation, whereby most patients stop taking their drugs as soon as they think their blood pressure (BP) had normalised.
“High BP is a lifelong ailment. If it has come, it stays with the patient for life.
“It can only be managed by using prescribed drugs and when a patient decides to do without his drugs, he is only endangering his life.
“When you feel that it has come down, go and see your doctor for advice.
“Your dosage may be reduced to keep your BP normal but do not stop taking the drug.
“This will put a lot of pressure on the heart in pumping blood and make the condition more delicate to manage,” said Osagie.
Osagie advised hypertension patients to immediately see their doctor whenever they feel the beating of the heart, saying this could lead to serious problems.
“Also, patients must take their drugs as at when due so that it will work the way it is supposed to work.
“BP drugs should be taken in the mornings because of the daily activities and not at night when you are supposed to take your rest.
“The drugs help to take off a lot of pressure from the heart during the day when a lot of activities are taking place.
“So, it is wrong to take it at night when the heart is not faced with any pressure at all,” she said.
She called on government authorities to carry out sensitisation campaigns at various levels to enlighten citizens about the health condition.
In doing so, she said, it would assist to reduce or avert cases of cardiac arrest and other complications.
NAN reports that a blood pressure reading more than 140 over 90 is generally considered to be high and the treatment for hypertension includes both drug prescription and lifestyle changes.
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