A medical expert, Dr Adeyemi Oluwatosin, has raised the alarm over the frequency of sudden death among the youth and said that there was urgent  need for the citizenry to take nutrition and healthcare seriously.

Oluwatosin who raised the concerns in an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP said youths between the ages 18-45 years could suddenly slump and die in their normal daily activities for various reasons.

He said “The body is made up of several systems, the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the gastrological system which functioning together makes up the body. It is very

important that all the systems are functioning optimally to be able to support life.

“We emphasise on these two systems, the cardiovascular system and the central nervous system which are the usual causes of a sudden slump which could lead to death. These systems comprises of the heart, the blood vessels and the brain amongst others.

“The heart is a major organ that has to function optimally, and during intense physical activities, the heart works more pumping blood adequately to support the brain. The brain is also what keeps us alive and if you deprive the brain of blood supply for more than four minutes a person can go unconscious and this could lead to death”.

He explained that the heart must function optimally when the body has more activity, so that the brain can get more blood, nutrients, oxygen and glucose, among others.

The physician said in some cases the heart might have a defect, which could be hereditary in nature, or a random ailment.

According to him, “There are several medical diseases that could be the cause of a sudden slump leading to death, including a hypertrophic cardio-myopathy, a hole in the heart, hypertension and so on.

“Sudden pressure in the heart, from intense physical activities can cause a dormant ailment in the body to become active. This is why slumping amongst the young occurs more often in sporting activity.

Oluwatosin counselled that, “It is important you have a check up before venturing into intense sporting activities”.

He proffered solutions which includes an occasional medical check-up (especially for families that have hereditary disease(s), a healthy diet, exclusion of excess sugar from sodas and other refined sugar drinks and avoidance of excess alcohol intake.

“Water is the best drink, smoking of any kind is dangerous to the health; cigarettes contain nicotine and what nicotine does is it speeds up the heart, putting the central nervous system under tension.

Nicotine activates the flight response in the body, at this state the body is being pumped with adrenaline; working the body on an unnecessary pressure.

“If you put too much pressure on a machine you would wear the machine out, same with the human body and it would halt functioning at its optimal. In the long run this could lead to several kinds of cancer.

“Obesity has its own challenges; it puts unnecessary pressure on the heart.

“A healthy diet is also good, eating healthy, vegetables are excellent, natural foods are good for the body, and are much better than preserved or refined foods,” he said.

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