Dr Tom Frieden, an American infectious disease and public health expert, on Wednesday urged Nigerians to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke through healthy living.
Frieden, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that exercising regularly, not smoking, not taking too much salt, avoiding excessive intake of alcohol and avoiding self medication would go a long way to promote a healthy living.
He disclosed that each year, cardiovascular disease kills no fewer than 18 million people worldwide, a third of all global deaths, and this proportion was expected to increase further.
The public health expert called on Nigerians to get involved and save 100 million lives from cardiovascular disease by doing the right things for others to emulate.
According to him, High Blood Pressure (HBP) is also a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and would kill nearly 10 million people this year, if not managed.
“Everyone knows someone who has died from cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes are so common that they seem like just a regular part of modern life.
“It does not have to be that way; proven, affordable, scalable solutions exist that would save 100 million lives in the next 30 years,” he said.
Speaking on hypertension, Frieden said that hypertension kills more people than any other condition, stating that controlling high blood pressure would save millions of Nigerians.
“Hypertension kills more people than any other condition.
“Approximately 10 million people die each year, more than from all infectious diseases combined.
“Reducing blood pressure prevents stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, and other health problems.
“Eating too much salt raises blood pressure and causes more than 3 million deaths each year.
“Reducing salt consumption is possible and can be done cheaply,” he said.
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