A cardiologist in Ghana is warning that heart disease is killing more people under the age of 50, according to reports carried by Graphic Online and UA.NEWS. The warning centres on conditions that develop quietly, with many patients showing no obvious signs until serious damage has occurred.
Graphic Online reports that Ghanaians are being urged to take the threat of so-called silent heart disease seriously. In a separate report, a cardiologist said deaths from heart disease among people below 50 are on the rise in the country.
The scale of the problem is tied to hypertension. According to CitiNewsroom.com, a cardiologist estimates that three in ten Ghanaians may be living with high blood pressure. Because the condition often produces no symptoms, people can carry it for years without knowing.
That has prompted calls for a change in how the country approaches diagnosis. A fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development, quoted by Adomonline.com, argued that Ghana must actively screen healthy people for hypertension and other chronic conditions, rather than waiting for patients to report symptoms.
Pulse Ghana has also reported on everyday habits that can push blood pressure up without a person noticing, and on ways to address them.
Taken together, the reports point to a strain of heart and circulatory disease that is common, often undetected, and increasingly affecting younger adults in Ghana.
What to watch next: whether Ghana's health authorities respond with wider screening programmes for hypertension and other chronic conditions.
