The silent killer

 by Irvine Syazyombo

Some diseases like malaria have signs and symptoms which health personnel notice  as soon as a patient reaches hospital.

However , high blood pressure is different. Initially you do not have any symptoms and with time it kills you.

“Many people assume you will get a headache or some other kind of signal when blood pressure is high. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Often, the first sign of unknown or untreated high blood pressure is a stroke, a heart attack, or kidney disease,” Kathy Berra  , clinical director of the Stanford Heart Network at Stanford University School of Medicine told Bewell, a Stanford University online journal.

She says serious complications leading to stroke cause permanent and significant disability.

Doctors say it kills through stroke, heart disease, damaging of blood vessels, kidneys and other organs.

“For a variety of reasons, your blood may begin to push too hard against the blood vessels. This is high blood pressure,” says health online journal, WebMD.

According to Bewell the disease does not only increase with age but also affects all ages regardless of sex, ethnicity or race.

WebMD also says avoiding overeating and having nutritious food low in fat, salt and sugar  prevents high blood pressure.

The journal also advises people to limit salt and alcohol intake, as well as avoiding smoking altogether.

“Don’t smoke tobacco and minimize your exposure to second hand smoke,” the journal says.

The journal counsels people to exercise regularly and avoid stress build up.

“The chemicals your body makes in response to stress make your heart beat harder and faster and your blood vessels tighten. All this makes blood pressure higher,” Miss Barre explains.

Doctors call high blood pressure a silent killer. To avoid being a victim, it is advisable to have blood pressure regularly measured.