High blood pressure is a silent killer affecting more than a quarter of Brits.
This incredibly common yet often symptom-less health condition can have devastating repercussions if left untreated. So how can people living with it spot the signs?
Hypertension – high blood pressure- is a leading cause of heart disease, one of Britain’s biggest killers. And what’s worse is doctors estimate fewer than half of cases (42%) are actually diagnosed.
It’s brought about when the pressure sustained on your blood vessels rises too high – 140/90 mmHg or higher, to be precise. Unfortunately though, the condition has few outright tell-tale signs. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), most people who have hypertension don’t feel any symptoms and the only way to check for it is by actively monitoring your blood pressure.
Senior Cardiac Nurse Julie Ward
said that, for many, patients are completely in the dark about it until they suffer from a stroke or heart attack. “That’s why high blood pressure is often called the silent killer,” she said. Despite this, patients have been told to look out to a subtle change to your breathing which could point to the condition.
Unfortunately, there’s no outright way of telling whether you have high blood pressure without regularly monitoring it using a machine at your GP’s surgery or at home. But doctors say any of the following common signs could point towards hypertension.
While it’s difficult to spot, high blood pressure is more prevalent among certain areas of the population so you can work out whether you are more at risk. According to the WHO, hypertension is more common if you: