Dr Ernestina Mensah of the Chosen Hospital in Tetegu, Accra, has warned that many people are living with lifestyle-related illnesses without knowing, describing non-communicable diseases as “silent killers” that often show symptoms only after major damage has occurred.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, January 23, Dr Mensah explained that conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and cancer affect several organs and may present with symptoms that many people ignore or misinterpret.

She said people with high blood pressure often report persistent headaches that do not respond to painkillers. “Some will come and say, ‘I’ve had a headache that is not getting better even with paracetamol,’” she said.

Others, she said, complain of breathlessness after mild activity or changes in their heartbeat. “Someone may tell you that when they walk or do a little exercise, they feel breathless, or that their heart beats very fast,” she said.

According to Dr Mensah, high blood pressure can also affect vision and kidney function. “Some people experience blurred vision because it is affecting the eyes, while others notice they are not passing urine as they used to,” she explained.

She said that blood pressure affects every part of the body, making its impact widespread. “Blood goes to every organ, so pressure runs through every organ. By the time you are describing these symptoms, it probably means there has already been damage.”

Dr Mensah explained that the most vulnerable organs are often the ones people cannot see. “The heart, lungs and kidneys have very small blood vessels. The slightest change in pressure affects them.”

Turning to diabetes, she said the disease often presents with subtle but disruptive symptoms.

“People will say they didn’t use to wake up at night to pass urine, but now they wake up three or four times. Others will tell you they are eating or drinking too much, or that a sore on their leg is not healing.”

Unexplained weight loss, she added, is another warning sign. “Someone may say they used to weigh 70 kilograms and now they are 50 within three months, without doing anything,” she said.

Dr Mensah also spoke about high cholesterol, which she described as largely symptom-free.

“High cholesterol is actually asymptomatic. And it’s not always the big people. In fact, most people who come with high cholesterol are usually slim.”

She added that obesity, high cholesterol and cancers also fall under non-communicable diseases. Apart from a few cases, such as cervical cancer, she said most cancers have no infectious cause and show symptoms very late.

“That is why regular check-ups are important,” she said.

Dr Mensah expressed particular concern about men, who she said often avoid hospitals.

“There’s a saying that women get sick and men die faster. Men think going to the hospital is a sign of weakness, so by the time they come, the complications are worse.”

She said that while more women may be diagnosed with these diseases, men often suffer more severe outcomes, including sudden death from stroke or breathing problems.

Dr Mensah also warned about the rise in autoimmune diseases, which she said are often misdiagnosed. “Not every headache is malaria and not every fever is an infection,” she said.

She recalled treating a young woman for a chest infection that refused to clear, only for a specialist to later diagnose an autoimmune condition.

“These diseases are coming up, especially when people have unexplained fevers and headaches. Paracetamol may reduce the pain, but it does not treat the underlying cause.”

Dr Mensah urged the public to take non-communicable diseases seriously.

“A lot of people don’t know they have these diseases. That is why we call them silent killers. You have it, you don’t know, and it is quietly causing damage until complications appear.”