A senior lecturer at the Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Dentistry, of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Isaac Okyere, has cautioned tertiary students against entering early relationships.
According to him, the heart is an emotional organ that weakens with stress and increases the risk of hypertension.
Dr. Okyere was speaking in a monthly podcast by the E-Learning Centre of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on the theme “Heart Health; The Heart of Man and Total Wellbeing.”
He emphasized that early emotional engagement often leads to heartbreaks, putting emotional and psychological stress on students, which negatively impacts their academic performance. He also advised students to be wary of activities like September rush, where continuing students woo female freshers into relationships, and the practice of living as couples on campus.
Research from the National Library of Medicine in 2021 revealed that among Ghanaian students currently in second-cycle educational institutions, 19.91% were hypertensive and 26.07% were prehypertensive. This indicates a probable high prevalence of hypertension in the future adult population if measures are not taken to curb the associated risks.
Dr. Isaac Okyere also charged the youth to manage their diet, monitor glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, and limit the consumption of alcohol and smoking for better heart health. It is important for the students to prioritize their physical and emotional well-being, as they have much life ahead of them beyond their academic years.
