Goldie: Nigerians must take their health more seriously- NMA President

Goldie

Following the official disclosure of the cause of death of renowned female Nigerian music artiste, Goldie Harvey, President, Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA) Dr. Osahon Enabulele has advised that all Nigerians must take their health more seriously in order to be alive and perform better.

Goldie’s autopsy result

Harvey, 31 years old died February 14^th after complaining about severe headache. Official autopsy results released Tuesday, February 19^th, 2013 by authorities of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) indicated that she suffered a terminal hypertensive heart disease which resulted in intracerebellar haemorrhage. This is a life threatening health condition often associated with high blood pressure or hypertension which results in severe bleeding into the brain tissue.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with me yesterday, Enabulele disclosed that her death may have been prevented had it been diagnosed on time that she was at risk of chronic hypertension.
Commiserating with her family and the country for losing a gifted act as Goldie at a moment she was most needed, Enabulele reiterated that “The major issue here is that Nigerians substantially don’t take health related issues seriously until when the situation is so bad. Her death I must say is most painful and this should be a wakeup call for all Nigerians to be health conscious in order to avoid such sudden deaths which may have been in the body for so long.
“For instance, tell me when last you (I) went for a general check up? We often feel that it’s so expensive when in actual fact it is not, same time, haven’t made it a routine.
“So many Nigerians are living with hypertension and other risk factors which could lead to this condition if they don’t already have it or could aggravate it if they do. Except they go to the hospital for checkups, there is no way they can understand and know their body system.
“Indeed, the tough socio-economic situation in the country is making so many Nigerians live on the edge but it takes a healthy person to be alive and perform efficiently. You see, many of us don’t rest; if it were possible for them to work 24 hours a day, they would attempt it forgetting that they need to care for their bodies lest it would revolt”.
According to Enabulele who is a Public and Community Health expert, Intracerebral haemorrhage is a crucial public health problem which leads to high rates of death and disability in adults, adding that “young adults are not spared by this condition”.
Although the number of hospital admissions for intracerebral haemorrhage in Nigeria is still not known, Enabulele stated that a cerebral haemorrhage is bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain and could be caused by weakened blood vessel walls, head trauma or congenital conditions (conditions that were present but undetected at birth).
“A cerebral haemorrhage is a life-threatening emergency. It affects patients with vasculopathies related to either chronic hypertension or cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which might represent exacerbation of an existing risk of clinical and subclinical disease.
“Though it doesn’t have major symptoms like malaria fever has, when it is at a severe stage, a sufferer could have severe headache, which explains the headache she complained about. People with high blood pressure or hypertension are at risk of the condition if not diagnosed in time and properly managed. You see why I said we must make regular checkups a part of our routine.
“This condition puts pressure on nearby brain tissue and restricts the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. If not reversed with treatment and on time, it can cause permanent brain damage and even death like it has happened in her case. The major risk factor for haemorrhagic stroke is long-standing high blood pressure (hypertension) that weakens the walls of blood vessels, which then may split under the pressure. Unfortunately, many Nigerians are hypertensive yet do not know” he further disclosed.
It is estimated that over 41 million Nigerians are hypertensive as at today. This figure, experts say is expected to increase over time except both Nigerians and the government take health more seriously, hence the need for a renewed effort and an urgent action to tackle the scourge.
Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure is elevated. It is also referred to as high blood pressure. Medically, hypertension is defined as blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg based on two readings on separate occasions in an adult.
The disease is taken to be the most common cardiovascular condition in Nigeria and the problem of defining a strategy for its control and prevention confronts the society at the present time.
Enabulele in addition revealed that there were some genetic factors that could make people much susceptible to  increase in blood pressure but that healthy habits such as taking care of the blood pressure, avoiding cholesterol and smoking were important in reducing the incidence of hypertension.
He further identified uncontrolled diabetes, lack of regular exercise, high cholesterol, obesity, a diet high in fat particularly saturated fat and salt as well as low in fruit and vegetables, excessive alcohol consumption and atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeats) as factors which could subsequently result in this condition when undetected and not managed.
Enabulele urged that “most of these conditions could be prevented with a change in our lifestyles, so all Nigerians must adopt better lifestyles. Eat right, exercise regularly, rest well and regular checkups will go a long way at keeping the surgeon’s knife away from you and making your family weep over you”.