The results of new research on blood pressure
announced today reveal that despite Irish people getting their blood
pressure checked, the majority of them do not know what their reading is
(1). The research was commissioned by Boehringer Ingelheim in advance of
World Hypertension Day 2008 this Saturday, 17th May. High blood pressure,
or 'hypertension', is a very common disorder in Ireland and is associated
with an increased risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart attack,
kidney failure, and death. Unfortunately, there are no symptoms of
hypertension and the only way it can be diagnosed is by having one's blood
pressure measured at regular intervals. About half of Irish adults over 50
years of age have high blood pressure (2).
Over 80% of those surveyed claimed to have had a blood pressure measurement
in the last year, but only a quarter recall their results and of those,
only about half (i.e. 14%) can recall their measurement with any accuracy
(1). In relation to the appropriate blood pressure measurement for a
healthy adult, only 33% claim to know what the normal measurement should be
(1).
The normal level of blood pressure is usually about 120 (systolic) over 80
(diastolic), but this can vary with age, how a person feels and activity. A
person with blood pressure higher than 140 over 90 should be seen for
follow-up by their family doctor. Generally anyone over 30 years old should
have their blood pressure checked every two years, preferably by their
family doctor.
When asked to rate cardiovascular diseases in order of what would be most
frightening to them 50% surveyed said a stroke, 34% said a heart attack,
13% said heart failure, with only 2% saying high blood pressure (1).
"As high blood pressure is the most important risk factor in stroke, it is
a matter of concern that only 2% of people rate this as most frightening.
This finding indicates that there is a disconnect amongst people as to what
causes stroke. It is important to realise that, if left untreated, this
'silent killer' as it is often called, can cause a stroke. Allowing it go
untreated can potentially lead to this life threatening condition, amongst
other conditions such as heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease,"
said Dr. John Cox, a General Practitioner in Fethard-on-Sea with an
interest in hypertension. "Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to
diagnose and usually controllable with lifestyle modifications (diet,
exercise & weight reduction) and for some, medication where necessary. I
would advise people to ask their GP or healthcare provider to give them
their blood pressure reading at the time it is taken, and to keep a record
of it for future reference. The main message is, check your blood pressure
and know you reading."
When asked what time of day a person is most likely to have a
cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, 80% of people
surveyed did not know that risk was greatest in the early morning hours
(1). The highest rise in blood pressure occurs in the early morning hours
(3), so for people with hypertension, the early morning hours pose the
largest risk (4, 5).
There is often no single cause of high blood pressure. A number of factors
can combine to raise blood pressure and high blood pressure tends to run in
families. Being overweight, having a high consumption of alcohol, poor
level of exercise, high stress levels and eating too much sodium (found in
salt) may lead to an increase in blood pressure. Blood pressure also
increases with age.
Another important finding was that 90% of those surveyed believe that in
most cases high blood pressure can be cured when treated. There is no cure
for high blood pressure, but it is controllable usually with lifestyle
modifications and medication if indicated. It was noted that there is a
general consensus over the broad descriptions of high blood pressure, with
96% agreeing that high blood pressure can lead to other problems such as
stroke, 93% agreeing that treating high blood pressure can reduce the
chance of a person having a heart attack or stroke and 86% believe high
blood pressure is often caused by poor diet and/or lack of exercise (1).
Of those surveyed about a third of adults (29%) aged 35+ have suffered high
blood pressure with the incidence most apparent among those aged 65+, in
the C2DE's and those in the rest of Leinster, excluding Dublin (1).
Interestingly Dubliners recorded the lowest incidence of high blood
pressure, at 17% (1).
World Hypertension Day, initiated by the World Hypertension League in 2005,
was established to highlight the serious medical complications of
hypertension and to communicate to the public information on prevention,
detection and treatment. Each year, May 17th is designated World
Hypertension Day (6).
Research Methodology
This survey was conducted through Behaviour & Attitudes' TeleBarometer
survey, which delivers a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults
aged 15+. Quotas used reflect census distribution of population (gender,
age, class, region, etc). All interviewing was conducted via the telephone
in Behaviour & Attitudes' in-house Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing
(CATI) unit. Fieldwork was conducted between April 2nd - April 13th 2008.
The survey delivered a sample of 645 adults aged over 35. All interviewing
was conducted in accordance with the standards established for market
research by ESOMAR (Europe), MRS (UK) and Marketing Society (Ireland).
Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading
pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates
globally with 135 affiliates in 47 countries and 39,800 employees. Since it
was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to
researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high
therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
In 2007, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 10.9 billion euro while
spending one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment
Prescription Medicines on research and development.
boehringer-ingelheim
References:
1. 'Awareness of and Attitudes to Hypertension', Behaviour and Attitudes
TeleBarometer Research, April 2008
2. About half of Irish adults over 50
years of age have high blood pressure
3. Neutel, JM, et al. Magnitude of the early morning blood pressure surge
in hypertensive patients- pooled analysis. Poster presented at the 20th
Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension, San Francisco,
14-18 May 2005.
4. Shimada, K, et al. Blood Press. Monit 2001; 6: 349-353.
5. Elliot, WJ, et al. Am. J. Hypertens. 2001; 14: 291S-295S.
6. World
Hypertension Day
Boehringer Ingelheim
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