By Lincoln DePradine

High blood pressure (HBP), while “very dangerous’’, is treatable and requires changes in lifestyle and diet, according to Toronto doctor Hubert Wong,

“For whatever reason, high blood pressure disproportionately affects the Black community. So, it is important to be aware that this can affect you,’’ Dr Wong told participants at a health and wellness symposium last Saturday in Scarborough.

“Health is Wealth – I Care, You Care, We Care’’, was the theme of the symposium that was hosted as part of commemorative activities marking February as Black History Month.

The event was organized by the Dotty Nicholas Sickle Cell Scholarship Fund Association (DNSCSFA), in partnership with Global Kingdom Ministries.

“It’s the first time we’re doing this,’’ said Dotty Nicholas, a retired nurse who is DNSCSFA president and a founding-member of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada. She’s also a former president of the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario.

Nicholas was happy with what she described as the “great response’’ to the symposium that included display booths by community service providers and presentations by professionals on topics such as sickle cell, breast and prostate cancer, and diabetes.

Other topics addressed included mental health and addiction, mental health and COVID-19, and fitness and nutrition.

Dr Wong, speaking about high blood pressure, said a “useful tool’’ is screening to identify HBP, and urged a doctor’s visit if one’s hypertension is “consistently high’’.

“The biggest danger of having high blood pressure is not getting it checked out,’’ he said, warning of the risks of stroke and aneurysm from HBP, as well its negative impact on organs such as the heart, eyes and kidney.

“High blood pressure can affect your health and wellness. High blood pressure doesn’t just affect your kidney; doesn’t just affect your heart,’’ said Wong.

“It affects your whole body because that blood pressure is circulating everywhere. So, we have to be aware of the risks of prolonged high blood pressure.’’

Wong, a pediatric doctor specializing in kidney care and treatment – including treating children with high blood pressure and sickle cell disease (SCD) – said “there is definitely a genetic component’’ to high blood pressure.

“We know that people with sickle cell disease have a higher likelihood of developing kidney disease during their life,’’ he said. “But, even if you didn’t have the sickle cell disease, say you have the sickle cell trait – we also know that these people have a disproportionately higher likelihood of having higher blood pressure as well. So, it’s important to get checked out.’’

People, as they get older, also have “a higher tendency to develop high blood pressure’’, Wong said.

Beyond the genetic reasons for getting high blood pressure, people may develop HBP because of their lifestyle and diet, Wong said.

He referred to salt and proteins as the “two main culprits’’.

“How you eat and how you live your lives make a huge difference in whether you develop blood pressure later on in life,’’ Wong said.

“It is absolutely true that, as an adult, if you eat a lower-salt, lower protein diet, your blood pressure will generally be lower.’’

A diet, he said, should include vegetables and fibre. “The more colourful your food is, the lower your blood pressure will be.’’

He added that, “taking care of yourself, taking of your body, making sure that you live healthy, fruitful and long lives, that’s what we really want to see’’.

Wong, recommending exercise, said, “get up and move; be active. Get out there and move that body’’.