Hypertension in an 18-year-old shouldn’t be taken lightly. But the reality is stark across Nigeria. Why?
A leading Nigerian cardiologist says hypertension is rapidly shedding its image as an ailment of the elderly, with an alarming spike in cases among teenagers and young adults signaling a potential public health catastrophe.
Professor Chizindu Alikor, President of the Nigerian Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, revealed that research shows cardiovascular risk factors are now clustering in 15% of Nigerians aged 18 to 39, a trend he described as “worrisome” and indicative of a dangerous epidemiological shift.
“High blood pressure is no longer a sickness for the old,” Professor Alikor declared during the 123rd Inaugural Lecture of the Rivers State University.
He delivered a presentation grimly titled: “The Silent Active Engine Bearing Weights of Human Sufferings: The Battle to Stay Alive.”
The cardiologist pinpointed a radical transformation in lifestyle as the core driver of this silent epidemic.
“Urbanization has wiped away the traditional diet and leg walk and has brought us to a sedentary lifestyle,” he said, lamenting the abandonment of vegetable-rich diets and active commutes for fast food, processed meals, and physical inertia.
The risks are compounded by what he termed “lifestyle decisions that impact the heart,” including excessive salt and refined sugar intake, obesity, poorly managed diabetes, and unaddressed stress. Men, his research indicates, are particularly vulnerable, showing a higher prevalence of these interconnected risk factors.
Professor Alikor’s warning is grounded in data. He cited collaborative research from over two decades ago that already revealed a high burden of cardiovascular risks in the Niger Delta region. The current surge, especially in rural communities, suggests the problem is accelerating nationwide.
Without urgent, coordinated intervention, he forecasts a devastating near future. “In the next 10 to 20 years,” Professor Alikor cautioned, “there will be an alarming increase of heart attacks and stroke.”
To combat this looming crisis, he proposed a strategic countermeasure: the “Alikor Health Care Survival Model.” This holistic framework, also referred to as the “Alikor Survival Network Model,” calls for a multi-tiered approach involving individual responsibility, family support, and systemic healthcare reinforcement to foster preventive heart care and early management.
The lecture served as both a scientific alarm and a public clarion call, urging a societal return to healthier habits and systemic support to prevent a generation of young Nigerians from bearing the weight of preventable cardiovascular suffering.
