The Doc Replies
Our expert answers your medical questions
I suffer with hypertension. What are the risks and how do I tackle them?
Contrary to popular belief, if you have high blood pressure you may have no symptoms. The risk increases with age, so over the age of 40 it should be measured at least every five years.
During the pandemic, we are encouraging people to buy blood pressure monitors themselves, particularly if they have hypertension. The British Hypertension Society’s website has a list of the ones they have checked and consider to be accurate.
People are often confused by the figures involved in a blood pressure reading. The systolic pressure – that is the higher number – is the force at which your heart pumps blood around the body. The diastolic pressure is the resistance to blood flow in the blood vessels. Neither should be raised.
The risk with high blood pressure is that it puts strain on the blood vessels and the heart and other organs such as the brain and the kidneys. This increases the risk of a number of conditions, mainly heart disease and stroke but also peripheral vascular disease, kidney disease and vascular dementia. If you have high blood pressure, reducing it cuts the risk of all of these.
You can reduce blood pressure by losing weight, reducing salt and alcohol intake and increasing exercise. If you smoke you should stop, as the risks from hypertension are much higher in smokers.
If your blood pressure remains raised, you need medication, so you should see your GP.
Are regular smear tests important?
Yes. A smear test checks the health of the cervix. It is not a test for cancer but helps to prevent cancer.
The test looks for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). It is now that known certain types of HPV can affect the cells and may lead to cancer.
If you do not have any HPV you may not need any more tests, but if HPV is present, the cells are checked for changes.
If they do find these cell changes they can be treated so you do not develop cancer.
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