Blood Pressure Awareness Week runs from 2 – 8 September 2024 and is run by Blood Pressure UK to encourage people to be aware about the risks of hypertension.
Hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure, is when your blood pressure is higher than the recommended level. Hypertension is usually diagnosed if your blood pressure is regularly above 140/90 mm Hg. Although it is a very common condition, as many as 1 in 4 adults in the UK have high blood pressure, it often has no noticeable symptoms and can quietly damage the body for years before symptoms appear. Left untreated high blood pressure can damage artery and blood vessel walls over time and lead to very serious problems such as heart failure, heart attacks, aneurysms, kidney damage and strokes. This is why it is important to be aware of your own blood pressure readings.
The diagram below gives a simple but helpful illustration of how the body can be affected by high blood pressure.
Causes and prevention of high blood pressure
You may be more at risk from high blood pressure if you:
- eat a high-fat diet
- eat a high-salt diet
- don’t exercise
- are overweight
- smoke
- drink too much alcohol
- are stressed
- take some recreational drugs
- are older – the risk of developing high blood pressure increases as you get older
- have a family history of high blood pressure
Therefore making healthy lifestyle choices such as eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise will benefit your blood pressure , whilst this will not aways be enough to keep blood pressure down to a sufficiently health level , it is a very treatable condition and there are lots of different medicines that can be used to control it such as ACE inhibitors, ARMs , Diuretics, Alpha and Beta -Blockers .
Even if you have none of the above risk factors it is recommended by the British Heart Foundation that you should still have your blood pressure checked regularly, and this should be done at least once a year if you are at increased risk of high blood pressure. As hypertension often has no symptoms getting blood pressure checked is the only way to find out if you are suffering from a condition that, whilst very manageable, can have serious effects left untreated.
During this week, Blood Pressure UK are encouraging people to be aware of their blood pressure readings and how to self-test at home. If you would like more information about this, please go to Blood Pressure UK for more information.
If you are concerned about the hypertension management that you or a member of your family has received, please contact our experienced team on 0116 254 7456 or email: enquiries@moosaduke.com.
