Review
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Cardiol. Dec 26, 2012; 4(12): 327-340
Published online Dec 26, 2012. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v4.i12.327
Blood pressure, prevalence of hypertension and hypertension related complications in Nigerian Africans: A review
Okechukwu S Ogah, Ikechi Okpechi, Innocent I Chukwuonye, Joshua O Akinyemi, Basden JC Onwubere, Ayodele O Falase, Simon Stewart, Karen Sliwa
Okechukwu S Ogah, Ministry of Health, Nnamdi Azikiwe Secretariat, Umuahia 440233, Abia State, Nigeria
Ikechi Okpechi, Division of of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, E13, Renal Unit, Grootes Schuur Hospital, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa
Innocent I Chukwuonye, Division of Renal Medicine (Nephrology), Department of Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia 440233, Abia State, Nigeria
Joshua O Akinyemi, Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200211, Oyo State, Nigeria
Basden JC Onwubere, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu 400001, Nigeria
Okechukwu S Ogah, Ayodele O Falase, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University College Hospital, PMB 5116, Dugbe GPO, Ibadan 200211, Oyo State, Nigeria
Simon Stewart, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Karen Sliwa, Hatter Cardiovascular Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Observatory 7935, South Africa
Author contributions: Ogah OS, Okpechi I, Chukwuonye II and Onwubere BJC conceived of this review; Ogah OS and Chukwuonye II drafted the manuscript; Ogah OS,. Okpechi I and Akinyemi JO reviewed the papers; Ogah OS, Okpechi I, Chukwuonye II and Akinyemi JO participated in the data acquisition; Falase AO, Stewart S and Sliwa K revised the manuscript; and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Okechukwu S Ogah, MD, Msc, FWACP, Ministry of Health, Nnamdi Azikiwe Secretariat, Umuahia 440233, Abia State, Nigeria. osogah56156@yahoo.com
Telephone: +234-806-7747121 Fax: +1215-975-6817
Received: April 13, 2012
Revised: October 23, 2012
Accepted: October 30, 2012
Published online: December 26, 2012
Abstract

To review studies on hypertension in Nigeria over the past five decades in terms of prevalence, awareness and treatment and complications. Following our search on Pubmed, African Journals Online and the World Health Organization Global cardiovascular infobase, 1060 related references were identified out of which 43 were found to be relevant for this review. The overall prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria ranges from 8%-46.4% depending on the study target population, type of measurement and cut-off value used for defining hypertension. The prevalence is similar in men and women (7.9%-50.2% vs 3.5%-68.8%, respectively) and in the urban (8.1%-42.0%) and rural setting (13.5%-46.4%).The pooled prevalence increased from 8.6% from the only study during the period from 1970-1979 to 22.5% (2000-2011). Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were generally low with attendant high burden of hypertension related complications. In order to improve outcomes of cardiovascular disease in Africans, public health education to improve awareness of hypertension is required. Further epidemiological studies on hypertension are required to adequately understand and characterize the impact of hypertension in society.

Keywords: Blood pressure; Hypertension; Prevalence; Non-communicable disease; Nigeria