Cardiologist urges policy reforms for hypertension control
By Folasade Akpan
Dr Oladipupo Fasan, Head of Cardiology at the National Hospital, Abuja, has underscored the critical need for evidence-based practice, a well-trained health workforce, and effective policy implementation to control hypertension in Nigeria.
Fasan, who also serves as Secretary-General of the Nigerian Hypertension Society, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
He noted that the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially hypertension, reflected an ongoing epidemiological transition in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We had always battled communicable diseases, but now we have progressed into the non-communicable disease era,” he said.
Highlighting hypertension’s central role in cardiovascular disease, Fasan compared it to the hub of a wheel, with complications such as heart failure, stroke, blindness, and kidney failure radiating outward as spokes.
“Heart attack, amputation, erectile dysfunction, all these emanate from just having high blood pressure,” he added.
He stressed that hypertension awareness, prevention, treatment, and control must remain national priorities, calling for increased collaboration and a holistic approach to tackle the problem, from community-level health mobilisation to national policy change.
“All these three factors, education, data analysis, and policy, are key aspects of blood pressure control because we can’t do anything without evidence.
“Everything we do in medicine is because we have evidence that it works. That is the essence of medical practice,” he said.
According to him, without quality research and data analysis, health professionals cannot design or implement effective interventions.
He also emphasised that a well-trained health workforce was non-negotiable in delivering quality patient outcomes.
“A health professional that is not well-trained is worse than even a herbalist,” Fasan warned.
While acknowledging the role of individual clinicians and organisations in offering care, Fasan argued that lasting impact lied in effective public policy.
He cited salt-reduction strategies in Scandinavian countries that significantly improved cardiovascular health.
“One single right policy can affect the whole nation positively,” he said.
He commended the Federal Government’s recent introduction of a National Salt Reduction Policy, calling it a bold and strategic step.
“If manufacturers of edible products are carried along, we would have gone a long way with just one policy initiative to cut down salt intake which, in the long run, will help reduce blood pressure levels nationwide.”
Fasan also advocated for task-shifting in Nigeria’s doctor-led health system.
He urged that hypertension care, especially at the primary healthcare level, be delegated to trained community health workers to ease the burden on the limited number of doctors and nurses.
“If we can complete hypertension management at the primary healthcare level, then we would have done a lot.
“We must now train community health workers to identify and manage simple hypertensive cases and refer complicated ones,” he said.
He expressed concern over Nigeria’s ongoing brain drain crisis in the health sector.
He said that empowering lower-tier health workers might be the most effective and sustainable approach to reduce the incidence of strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failures, particularly in rural and underserved communities. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yinusa Ishola/Abiemwense Moru
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