[ad_1]
Participants in the launch of Healthy Heart Africa (HHA)
A consulting physician, Professor Jacob Plange-Rhule, lamented the low rate of detection of hypertension, although it requires little financial means to detect it.
He said that hypertension was one of the most common diseases killing many people, stressing that "if we want to prevent deaths, we need to look at hypertension."
Professor Plange-Rhule, who expressed concern in Accra this weekend at the launch of the Healthy Heart Africa (HHA) program in the country, said most hypertensive patients were in the majority of their lives.
Pilot
The HHA program is an initiative of AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical company committed to tackling hypertension and reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease in Africa.
To be tested in the Ashanti region, the program will select people with high blood pressure and link them to care.
According to him, many people desperately continued to seek a cure for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) without knowing that some of these diseases were not curable.
Ghana News Titles
For the latest news in Ghana, visit the Graphic Online titles page
Ghana News Page
Professor Plange-Rhule, who debated at a round table prior to the launch of the program, pointed out that the low level of health literacy in the country was the reason why many people were being cheated by health professionals. health charlatans.
He mentioned, for example, that although hypertension can not be treated when it is detected, it can be managed.
Dr. Alfred Doku, a cardiologist, who was also part of the speakers, said that people 's mindset about NCDs had not changed, but was worsening.
He said that most people, because they did not believe in the existence of NCDs, continued to lead an imprudent life, such as drinking, smoking and eating junk food at the expense of their health.
He called for increasing the knowledge of health workers at the primary level so that they can manage NCDs, especially hypertension, when they picked them up during their routine checks.
Partnerships
Ms. Ashling Mulvaney, also a panel member, said hypertension has modifiable risk factors that could be addressed.
She added that the current problem with hypertension and other noncommunicable diseases was that no actor could do it alone. She therefore called for a partnership, saying that countries could collaborate and learn from each other's experiences.
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), said that the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics showed that hypertension was a major cause of premature death in the world.
He said the disease has always been one of the top 10 leading cases in the Department of Outpatients (OPD) over the last three decades in the country.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare said the most worrying aspect was that the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey in 2014 had revealed that 63% of women and 86% of men with hypertension arterial did not know their condition.
He said that with the launch of HHA, Ghana had joined Kenya and Tanzania and had become the third country to join the program.
Witchcraft
Dr. Denis Odai Laryea, Program Manager for Noncommunicable Diseases in the GHS, said that although diseases have affected a large part of the public, few cases have been recorded in the outpatient department in various health facilities.
He attributed the increase in noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension to low literacy level of risk factors and prevention of noncommunicable diseases among Ghanaians.
Kwaku Twumasi, who has survived a stroke and advocates for awareness of cardiovascular disease, called for a stop to blame witchcraft and seek appropriate medical treatment.
writers This email address is protected from spam. You must enable JavaScript to view it.
[ad_2]
Source link
