Bad blood pressure can hit all unhealthy people
A global study of high blood pressure and its impact, has revealed that most people in trouble may not have been diagnosed as being in a dangerous position, because their blood pressure would not have been classified as a problem in the first place.
ABC health presenter, Norman Swan, said that half of all strokes and heart attacks worldwide were caused by raised blood pressure, and the problem was worse in low to middle income countries.
High blood pressure claimed seven and a half million lives prematurely each year, and with the added disabilities from strokes and heart attacks, caused the loss of 76 million healthy years of life.
Norman Swan said that the global study “shows that just targeting people with the highest blood pressure will not have the biggest effect of reducing risk. All of us need to do something, which could be losing weight, taking exercise, and reducing salt intake”.
