Issues and non-issues in hypertension in the Nigerian population

Abstract

The health priorities of any community can only be properly defined after reasonably accurate data collection. This underscores the importance of the recent exercise by the National Expert Committee on the Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) [ 1J in confronting the difficult epidemiological survey of systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus , coronary heart disease, the haemoglobinopathies and anaemia. Because of some imponderables (universal in our environment) studies on G6PD deficiency had to be abandoned. We now have some foundation data on national scale on which to build. However, as a passing remark , I feel rathe r disappointe d that albuminuria , if not microalbuminuria, could not be smuggled into the survey, considering the almost intimidating representation of nephrology on the committee. Perhaps, as compensation, systemic hypertension seems quite adequately covered. The following remarks seek to focus on some issues on the latter subject which deserve greater attention than hitherto accorded to them. A few (e.g., the revision downwards of the operational definition of hypertension) of them have been considered as non-issues by some of our respectable colleagues. My purpose is to persuade all concerned that all of them are important.