A Consultant Neurologist, Dr Ndijeka Okubabejo, on Friday said uncontrolled high blood pressure was one of the leading risk factors of stroke.
Okubadejo, who works with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
She said: “Uncontrolled high blood pressure or hypertension increases a person’s stroke risk by four to six times.
“High blood pressure leads to atherosclerosis and hardening of the large arteries, blockage and weakening of the blood vessels in the brain.
“ The risk of stroke is directly related to how high the blood pressure is. If people control blood pressure with proper medication, then, we can reduce the burden of stroke.
“Although, stroke is common particularly in the middle-aged people, it has been seen in the younger population in recent times.
“Stroke is becoming increasingly common among our younger generation because of the adoption of a western lifestyle.’’
According to the doctor, stroke incidence is 1.14 per 1000 persons in a year. “Stroke is one of the commonest emergencies in our hospitals,” she said.
Okubadejo listed signs of stroke to include dizziness, loss of balance and sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
“Other signs are difficulty in swallowing, sudden blurred vision or decreased vision in one or both eyes, sudden inability to move part of the body.
“ Also, when you are experiencing headache with nausea and vomiting, brief loss of consciousness and sudden confusion those may be signs of stroke.
“Some other risk factors of stroke apart from high blood pressure include uncontrolled diabetes, high total cholesterol level, alcohol, obesity, smoking and coronary heart disease,” she said.
Okubadejo said that stroke could be prevented if the risk factors were controlled.(NAN)
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