Assess your risk

 

Hypertension rarely has any symptoms and anyone can be at risk, but some groups are more susceptible and should be extra vigilant. Your risk is higher if:

· You have a family history of high blood pressure, strokes or heart attacks.

· You ’re overweight, eat too much salt, take little exercise, drink too much alcohol, and have a low intake of fruit and vegetables.

· You have diabetes, kidney disease or heart disease.

· When checked, your blood pressure was at the higher end of the normal range.

And if your blood pressure is still high?

 

For some people lifestyle changes will be enough to reduce blood pressure to a safe level, but others will need drugs that help open up the blood vessels, making it easier for the heart to function effectively or work through the brain to lower the body’s blood pressure. Once you start medication, you’ll be taking it for life, but there’s strong evidence that, as long as your blood pressure is well controlled, it will reduce your risk of stroke, heart attacks and heart failure.

HIGH

140/90

Your blood pressure is considered to be high if it's at this level.

NORMAL

120/80

If your blood pressure is in the normal range – around 120/80 or below – you should have it checked every three or four years.

RAISED

130/85

You should be concerned if your blood pressure is in the upper range of normal – 130/85. Even at this level, your risk of a stroke or heart attack increases threefold, and the Blood Pressure Association recommends that you have your pressure checked annually. If you have hypertension, your doctor will check it more frequently.

 

KEY WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF

You can't change your genes but you can change your lifestyle, and that alone could be enough to keep your blood pressure down. Even if it's normal, you should take steps to keep it that way. Blood pressure tends to rise with age. 'Not as an inevitable result of getting older,' says Professor MacGregor, 'but almost entirely as the result of eating an unhealthy, salt-laden diet.'