“When I was diagnosed, I didn’t know what had to be done and I wasn’t told much about the condition. I was put on treatment and when I collected my medication I noticed that all the people in my group were much older than me, so I thought I had an old-people’s condition,” said Ngcamane, who is now married with two daughters.

In people with high blood pressure, blood pushes too hard against the blood vessels and this can damage the vessels and the heart, which pumps the blood.

Interpreting numbers from a blood pressure test is trickier in children than in adults, but children can also suffer from high blood pressure. The disease can have serious long-term effects including heart and kidney disease and increased risk of strokes.

After a year of treatment, Ngcamane was sent to Rob Ferreira Hospital for a check-up. Tests, including X-rays, were done.

“I was surprised and confused when the doctor said there was no sign of blood pressure,” she told OurHealth.

“I just started to cry, thinking about all that time I had been on treatment,” she added.

She said the doctor suggested she open a case against the nurse who had originally diagnosed high blood pressure, but she didn’t. She was just relieved not to have to take treatment anymore.

“At that moment I felt like my life had been given back to me and I had purpose and I could enjoy my teenage years.”

However, throughout the years, she has had chest pains, which she didn’t take seriously.

“Recently my life was turned upside down again when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure again. The nurse told me to cut down on salt and fat in my diet and gave me treatment for a month to see if my blood pressure would go down, which it did for a while,” she said.

The chest pain continues though.

The hardest part is the uncertainty about what happened 17 years ago: “Was it the nurse who was wrong for putting me on treatment, or was it the doctor who was wrong for taking me off the treatment? I still don’t know the answer.

“It’s hard for me to trust the health system now because what if history repeats itself? Should I be on treatment? Do I have high blood pressure? What’s going on with my heart?”

Ngcamane has tried various other ways to treat high blood pressure, including the African potato and eating raw regular potatoes.

“My biggest fear is that I will have a heart attack and die. I can’t bear the thought of leaving my two angels and my husband.”

“I recently started using aspirin from a pharmacy and my health seems to be improving,” she said.

Some doctors prescribe aspirin for people at risk of heart attacks as it prevents the blood from clotting. Blood clots can block the blood vessels (arteries) near the heart and cause a heart attack, especially if the vessels are already narrowed from atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of fatty deposits in your arteries.