Hypertension: The 'silent killer' disease

May 17th of each year is dedicated to raising awareness of hypertension and educating people on its prevention. 

According to the World Health Organization, blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the body's arteries, the large blood vessels in the body. Hypertension is when blood pressure is too high.

Claudine Umulisa, a nutritionist at Nutrisante Rwanda, says high blood pressure is a silent killer disease, and that's why it can be difficult to spot, let alone diagnose the symptoms right away.

"Most people can have blood pressure without realizing it and some even live with it without even knowing it, so everyone is always reminded to get frequent medical checks to at least check if there isn't a possibility of having the disease,” she says.

She emphasizes that anyone can get blood pressure depending on their lifestyle or even the sensitivity of their body.

“There are people who are more vulnerable, particularly the elderly, but that doesn't mean other people are isolated. So we have to be careful about the lifestyle we lead because practically everyone is exposed," she said.

Umulisa explains that high blood pressure is not a curable disease, but a manageable disease.

"The reason this disease has no cure is that if a person with high blood pressure stops associating with risk factors that cause hypertension, their blood pressure lowers, and if they change their lifestyle, their blood pressure goes up again," she says.

She says poor diet is among the risk factors that cause high blood pressure.

"There are many risk factors, some of which are eating too much salt, too many fats and carbohydrates, non-veg foods, obesity, and also people who smoke and drink too much are at high risk of developing high blood pressure."

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