How to ease the pressure
Many people don’t realise they have high blood pressure until it causes irreversible damage. Here Dr Michael Thomas, chairman of the BMA’s Welsh committee for public health medicine, explains why it’s so vital to get yours checked regularly
RAISED blood pressure is the number-one contributing risk factor for death worldwide. Figures obtained by British Heart Foundation Cymru suggest that around a sixth of the population have been diagnosed and are living with high blood pressure in Wales, although in reality this figure could be much higher.
Analysis from elsewhere in the UK suggests that for every 10 people diagnosed with high blood pressure, seven remain undiagnosed.
High blood pressure is very much the silent killer, as it can often go undetected and you often only find out that you have it when getting your blood pressure checked, but there are symptoms that you need to look out for.
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure?
High blood pressure rarely causes symptoms, but severe headaches, vision problems, an irregular heartbeat, chest pain as well as fatigue and confusion can all be symptoms of high blood pressure.
These symptoms are not exclusive to high blood pressure – they are also symptoms of other diseases, which means that it is easy to dismiss high blood pressure.
This is why it is especially important to get your blood pressure checked.
Is it ever too late to get your blood pressure checked?
The shortest and best answer to this is: no. It is never too late to get your blood pressure checked and doing so may help prevent a heart attack or stroke and prevent any further, long-lasting damage being done to your body.
How do I maintain a healthy blood pressure?
There are a number of things that you can do to maintain a healthy blood pressure and I’ve set out a few below:
Keep your weight healthy. A healthy weight can help bring your blood pressure down and reduce your risk of developing other conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
Exercise regularly. You don’t need to join a gym, a brisk walk is enough. It is recommended that you do around 30 minutes of exercise a day. For the exercise to be effective you need to feel warmer, breathe harder and your heart needs to beat faster than it normally does. We are blessed in Wales to have such beautiful natural surroundings for us to explore and enjoy a walk in.
Relax. It’s become a bit of a cliche to say that stress contributes to high blood pressure but that doesn’t take away the fact that it is true and one of the easiest ways for you to reduce your blood pressure is to try to avoid stress and relax. Even if you just take some quiet time, socialise with friends and/or family, or just take some time out to exercise.
Stop smoking. If you smoke, my simple piece of advice is to stop. Smoking clogs your arteries and causes many other health problems too.
It is hard to believe that so many people in Wales could have high blood pressure but are unaware.
Lives are needlessly being put at risk due to a failure to get checked. So for your health please get your blood pressure checked.
This May is the second annual May Measurement Month – a worldwide month-long event that encourages people to get their blood pressure checked. More than 100 countries take part in the awareness-raising campaign.