High blood pressure cases on rise in Masindi
He advised the public to do routine checkups, check on the diets they eat, and do regular body exercise.
By Our Reporter
Masindi: Cases of high blood pressure are on the rise in Masindi district, a health official reveals.
Brian Mugisha, the assistant district health officer in charge of child and maternal health, told this publication that three years ago, the prevalence of hypertension was at 23%, but now it’s at 26%, thus on the rise.
He noted that the most affected age bracket is 50 years and older, stressing that with the current development, they are also registering cases high pressure among people below the age of 35.
‘’We are registering cases mostly in the age bracket of 50 years and above; however, with the current developments, there are cases among people below the age of 35.’’
The health officer stressed that they still have a burden of high blood pressure cases in the district, with 25% prevalence in rural areas, with males standing at 28% and females at 25%.
Mugisha noted that most blood pressure cases can be prevented, saying that about 10% of high blood pressure cases are not known, while in 90% of the cases, there are conditions that can be attributed, like obsession and consumption of excessive salt, among others.
‘’About 10% of high blood pressure cases are not known, while in 90% of the cases, there are conditions that can be attributed, like obsession and consumption of excessive salt, among others,’’ he added.
The health expert advised the public to do routine checkups, check on the diets they eat, and do regular body exercise. He says this will help reduce high blood pressure cases.
Recently, theMasindi district local government received 14 blood pressure machines from members of Friends of Masindi (FOM), a WhatsApp group.
The machines, worth 1.7 million shillings, were donated to the district’s health department in order to improve health service delivery.
Mugisha asserted that the donation came at the right time since some health centers were lacking them.
Masindi district general hospital has three blood pressure machines, while each health center III will have one.
He added that when they get more blood pressure machines from the government, they will be allocated to health II’s in the district.
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