High blood pressure causes no symptoms until it causes a stroke. It is the leading cause of stroke in Cameroon, it is common in adults here, and most people who have it do not know. A reading takes two minutes and is the only way to find out.
What the numbers mean
- Below 120 over 80: normal.
- 120 to 139 over 80 to 89: raised. Worth changing habits and checking again.
- 140 over 90 or above, on more than one occasion: high blood pressure. It should be discussed with a clinician.
- 180 over 110 or above: go to a facility today, whether or not you feel unwell.
The top number is the pressure when the heart pushes; the bottom is between beats. Either being high matters.
Getting a reading you can trust
- Sit quietly for five minutes first. No coffee, cigarette or exercise in the half hour before.
- Back supported, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed.
- Arm resting at the level of the heart, cuff on bare skin, the right cuff size for the arm.
- Do not talk during the measurement.
- Take two readings a minute apart and use the second, or their average.
- One high reading is not a diagnosis. It is repeated readings that count.
Who should check, and how often
- Every adult, at least once a year.
- Every few months if a reading was raised, or if a parent or sibling has it.
- At every antenatal visit in pregnancy. Raised pressure in pregnancy is a different and more urgent matter.
- Free or cheap checks are available at health centres, many pharmacies, and community screening days.
Go to a facility now if a high reading comes with
- Sudden weakness or numbness on one side, a drooping face, or trouble speaking. That is a stroke.
- Chest pain, or severe breathlessness.
- The worst headache of your life, or a headache with vomiting and confusion.
- Sudden loss of vision.
- A reading of 180 over 110 or more.
- Any raised reading in pregnancy, especially with swelling of the face or hands, or a headache.
Why it matters this much here
Untreated high pressure damages the brain, the heart and the kidneys silently over years, then presents as a stroke, heart failure or kidney failure, all of which are expensive and difficult to treat in a country with about one neurologist per million people. A yearly check and, where needed, a cheap daily tablet is the whole difference.
