Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, has emerged as one of the world’s leading causes of preventable illness and death. In Ghana, the condition affects an estimated 3.7 million people, representing one in every three adults, with nearly half of those affected unaware of their status.
Healthcare facilities across the country continue to diagnose new cases, but medical professionals warn that detection often comes too late — after patients have already suffered strokes, heart attacks, or kidney damage.
Dr. Florence Akumiah, a cardiology fellow and physician specialist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, explains blood pressure as the force that pushes blood through the arteries — the vessels responsible for carrying oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the rest of the body. This pressure is essential to ensure that every organ, including the brain, kidneys, and heart itself, receives sufficient blood to function properly.
Hypertension develops when the heart must work harder to pump blood or when blood encounters greater resistance flowing through the arteries. According to Dr. Akumiah, this occurs when blood vessels become stiff or narrow, when the heart beats persistently faster than normal, or when excess fluid circulates in the body. “When these factors increase the pressure beyond a healthy level, the risk of damage to vital organs also increases,” she says.
Experts identify multiple drivers behind rising hypertension rates, particularly among young people and the elderly. These risk factors span biological, lifestyle, and environmental or social categories.
Biological factors, which cannot be changed, include Black race, increasing age, sex — men face higher risk before women reach menopause, after which women’s risk increases — family history and genetics, pregnancy-related hypertension, and certain medical conditions.
Lifestyle factors, which can be modified, encompass unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, excess body weight, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption.
Environmental and social factors include air pollution, climate change, chronic psychological stress, anxiety, depression, and income status.
Current data underscores the urgency: one in three Ghanaian adults lives with hypertension, and nearly half remain undiagnosed.
