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Background: Averting recurrent stroke among stroke survivors requires a choice of the appropriate arm for blood pressure (BP) measurement, especially among high -risk survivors. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the appropriate arm for BP measurement in stroke survivors. Methods: This cross sectional study comprised of 100 volunteer and willing stroke survivors enrolled using the convenient sampling technique from 2 public hospitals in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Each participant's BP was measured as stipulated by previous studies. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the socio -demographics and clinical characteristics of the stroke survivors. Student's t -test for independent samples was used to compare mean BP between unaffected and affected arms of the participants. Results: Mean age and age range of the participants in years were 53.8 + 17.7 and 20 to 90, respectively. Participants that had had a stroke within the previous 7 months accounted for 69.0% of cases. Spastic stroke constituted 71%. Sides of the body afflicted with stroke were equally distributed. A significant difference (p = 0.017) existed in blood pressure between unaffected and affected arms of stroke survivors. Conclusions: Health workers involved in the management of stroke patients were advised to take blood pressure measurement from both the affected and non-affected arms; the arm with the higher value should be taken as the reference arm.

IntroductionAlthough evidence exists that adolescents’ hypertension could lead to adults’ hypertension, it is a general belief that measures for early detection and treatment of this condition is seldom undertaken especially in medically underserved communities such as Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria. This study investigated the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension among adolescents in Maiduguri, Nigeria, and explored the association between undiagnosed hypertension and adolescents’ physical characteristics and parental socio-demographic factors.MethodsParticipants’ physical characteristics were assessed, and information on their socio-demographics including parental socioeconomic status were obtained. Blood pressures and heart rates of the participants were also measured three times at 5–10-min period.ResultsThe prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension among the students was 13.2 %, and overwhelming majority (82.4 %) of the hypertensive students were in the prehypertensive stage, while 17.6 % were in the stage 1 classification of hypertension. Higher prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension was observed for the females compared to the male adolescents (X2 = 15.49, p = 0.001), and presence of undiagnosed hypertension is positively but tenuously linked to age (r = 0.11, p = 0.01), body mass index (r = 0.10, p = 0.01), and parental income (r = 0.26, p = 0.02) of the students.DiscussionThis study suggests that any effective programs designed to mitigate undiagnosed hypertension among adolescents in this city should include strategies that address possible barriers to physical activity and exercise among female adolescents in the society.

This study investigated experience with acupuncture needle stimulation of apparently healthy adult Nigerians and the responses of the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and rate pressure products (RPP) to acupuncture at both real acupuncture points relevant to the treatment of cardiovascular disorder and sham acupuncture points not relevant to the treatment of cardiovascular disorder. Seventy-eight participants were randomly placed into three groups: the real acupuncture group (RAG); the sham acupuncture group (SAG); and the control group, with 26 participants per group. Data were collected preintervention, 15 minutes into acupuncture stimulation, postintervention, and 15 minutes after intervention. Changes (postintervention - preintervention scores) in the SBP, HR, and RPP were statistically lower in the RAG than in the SAG. Changes in the DBP showed a significant difference between the SAG and the RAG (p > 0.05). Findings from this study showed that among apparently healthy Nigerian adults, acupuncture needle stimulation at acupoints relevant to cardiovascular disorders was more effective than sham intervention in reducing the SBP, HR, and RPP. Participants reported heaviness, numbness, and increasing pain, but no dizziness, fainting and/or life-threatening side effects, during and after the acupuncture needle stimulation.

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