Regular blood pressure tests 'critically important'

A staggering seven million people die annually as a direct result of hypertension, which is a treatable condition, Gordon McInnes, professor of clinical pharmacology at Glasgow University, said.

He likened the almost 20,000 people who die daily as a result of high blood pressure to the equivalent of 50 fully loaded jumbo jets crashing every day. Hypertension, he said, is the most important treatable cause of death in the world.

Speaking to The Times, Prof. McInnes said it is "hugely and critically" important for everyone to check their blood pressure regularly, even those who do not usually suffer from raised blood pressure.

"Everyone should know his or her numbers," he said.

He explained that the heart is a pump which pumps blood around the body, with the pressure helping to get the blood into the tissues. When the pressure is too high, it damages the vessels and increases strain.

The problem is growing fast, he said. Countries which up to a few years ago were not affected are seeing an increase as they adopt westernised attitudes. "It is becoming globally endemic."

While a minority of sufferers are able to control hypertension through a change in lifestyle, Prof. McInnes, who was in Malta to take part in a symposium organised by pharmaceutical company Novartis, said reducing salt and alcohol intake and exercising are among the things that could help lower blood pressure.

However, the majority of sufferers will need drugs to treat their hypertension.

Prof. McInnes said that over the years health professionals have realised the importance of starting to treat even those people who have slightly raised blood pressure. In fact, in the past 30 years the threshold for treatment has gone down progressively.

The main problem with hypertension is that there are no symptoms. Prof. McInnes said it was only when blood pressure got very high that sufferers might experience nose bleeds or headaches, but he quickly added that most headaches have nothing to do with hypertension.

Keeping blood pressure in check

In adults at risk of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, a series of shorter bursts of activity may be more effective in keeping blood pressure in check than a single long exercise session, according to a study.

After four 10-minute sessions on a treadmill, spaced an hour apart, people's blood pressures were reduced for three to four hours longer than after a single 40-minute treadmill workout, Dr. Saejong Park of Indiana University in Bloomington and colleagues found.

"Results of our study indicate that as few as four 10-minute walking sessions per day is effective in reducing blood pressure in prehypertension," Dr Park and his team conclude in a report in the Journal of Hypertension.

Prehypertension occurs when a person's blood pressure is above normal but does not meet the definition of hypertension. For these individuals, 30 minutes of "moderately intense" exercise on most days of the week is the only currently recommended treatment.

To compare the effectiveness of several smaller exercise sessions or a single longer workout, the researchers had 20 people perform the four shorter exercise sessions and then, a week later, a single longer one, or vice versa.

After the single, longer workout, participants' systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced for seven hours.

But after the series of shorter sessions, systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) stayed low for 11 hours, and diastolic pressure remained low for 10 hours.

Reuters