Sudden death: A worrying trend

Like any other day, Idris had arrived work and commenced his official duties; he was to host a management meeting and had gone to the bank for some money but he never made it back. His colleagues were shocked at his death, because he had never shown any signs of illness. They remembered a man […]

Like any other day, Idris had arrived work and commenced his official duties; he was to host a management meeting and had gone to the bank for some money but he never made it back.
His colleagues were shocked at his death, because he had never shown any signs of illness. They remembered a man as strong as a horse, who did his duties with vigour and a smile.
Only one close friend said Idris was over worked and tired at the close of work every day.
Idris never complained, but driving a long distance to work and back home was added stress.
Two weeks later, Ali Usman, father of five, kissed his wife goodbye early morning on his way to work.
At his first appointment, he collapsed, was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.
“He was his usual charming self when he left home,” said his wife Halima Usman, a civil servant. “He never complained of any heart pains neither did he have any breathing problems. Just like that and he is gone.”
“Many Nigerians do not really care much about doing regular checkups,” she went on. “They only go to hospital when they are ill and need medical attention.”
Dr. Biodun Ogunbo, a neurosurgeon and activist for healthy living points out how such habits can spell doom for the health of the country.
Sudden death has come to be associated with people collapsing while on routine duties, ostensibly without cause. But the cause has been increasingly linked to cardiovascular causes, including stroke.
“Unfortunately, there are no authentic statistics on the number of persons who die from heart related problems suddenly,” said Dr Edmund Nwana, professor of pathology at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.
Most deaths involve the heart and blood vessels and healthy living—or lack, thereof.
“We think almost 200,000 Nigerians are suffering a stroke each year,” said Dr. Ogungbo, adding that “half of those people are dying each year. The rest of them are becoming disabled.”
What’s key is that from doctors and journalists to mechanics and technicians, laxity about health is the cause of stroke, which is “killing Nigerians,” he asserted.
“Every single Nigerian knows somebody, either within their own family or in the street or close to them in their neighbourhood who has suffered stroke,”
Dr Nwana said “The first thing you can do is control your diet. A lot of people eat a lot of things they don’t need; a lot of junk and cholesterol dangerous to your heart.
“Over time, these things do accelerate damage to your system.
“Exercise is important too, no matter how little. Ordinary walks, to enable you sweat because that is important.
“Not sweating is quite dangerous; try to sweat everyday it would do wonders for your heart.”
Exercise is crucial but a sticky point for many Nigerians, considering financial brackets.
“A lot of us move from air conditioned toilets to air conditioned bedrooms, to air conditioned cars and air conditioned offices, when this happens, you know you are dying slowly,” said Dr. Nwana.
Experts suggest regular exercise—[brisk] walking, dancing, running for fixed durations weekly—to keep the body fit.
“Every Nigerian must get up, off their backside and do something,” said Dr. Ogungbo.
The best option, he advised, is to have medical checkups quarterly to ensure no one gets surprises, which could be quite expensive.