May & Baker Nigeria Plc held a 7.5 kilometre walk on Wednesday in Lagos to raise awareness towards reducing morbidity and mortality from hypertension.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the `Walk For Life’ was organised by the company to mark the 2023 World Hypertension Day.

Mr Patrick Ajah, the Managing Director, May and Baker, during the ‘Walk for Life’ programme, said that the company was commited to improving the quality of people’s life.

According to Ajah, hypertension, dubbed the ‘silent killer’, affects a large percentage of the population with many people ignorant about their blood pressure level and proper management of the disease.

He said that hypertension was one of the reasons why people suddenly collapse as well as many avoidable deaths.

Ajah said the company adopted the day as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative to reduce the burden of the disease.

“To celebrate the day, we embark on the walk to sensitise the people on the need for physical activity and to always check their blood pressure.

“To demonstrate that, we check people’s blood pressure, if it’s high we advise them on what to do and also encourage them to go to the hospital.

“Already, we’ve seen quite a number of people with high blood pressure.

“One of our mission at May and Baker is to improve the quality of life, throughout life and for all lifes.

“You cannot have a good quality of life if your blood pressure is high,” he said.

He advised people to adopt healthy lifestyles such as reducing salt intake, increasing fruits and vegetables consumption, embracing physical activity and avoiding tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption.

Similarly, Mrs Joy Osonde, a nurse with May and Baker, said that effective prevention and control of hypertension starts with individuals knowing their blood pressure level.

Osonde said that hypertension causes damage on body organs, noting that proper knowledge and management would reduce the disease burden.

Also, Mrs Edna Afegbua, a trader, said that she had minimal knowledge about hypertension and the importance of checking her blood pressure due to her busy schedule.

Afegbua commended the company for the medical outreach saying she would regularly check her blood pressure and adhere to medications as prescribed by medical practitioners.

NAN reports that the walk was through the major streets of Ikeja with stops at strategic locations where people were screened on BP, offered medical advice and treatment by medical personnel.

The World Hypertension Day is celebrated annually on May 17 with this year’s theme as: “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer.”

The theme seeks to draw attention to combatting the low level of awareness of hypertension as well as the limited availability of calibrated devices for accurate blood pressure measurement.

According to the World Health Organisation Africa Region, close to 40 per cent of adults aged 30 to 79 years are hypertensive and only a quarter of them are taking medicines.

WHO noted that optimal blood pressure control was only attained in 11 per cent of patients on medication.

It noted that hypertension was an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases mostly heart attack, stroke, and heart failure which account for a significant burden of premature mortality from non-communicable diseases.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria