High Blood Pressure: Risk Factors Ignored

Ignorance about how to lower or prevent high blood pressure is putting lives at risk, according to a MORI poll for the The Stroke Association released today.

The poll questioned just under 2,000 people about their knowledge of tackling blood pressure. While the results show that the overwhelming majority of people think blood pressure is something to be concerned about, and that it is something which can be controlled, many are unaware of how to do so.

Six in ten are not aware that they can eat healthily to lower high blood pressure; seven in ten do not know that taking exercise can help. Just one in four recognise the merits of 'taking a break', 16 per cent say they can smoke less, and only 9 per cent are aware that there is medication available in more serious cases to control blood pressure.

Given this low awareness, it is not surprising that relatively few adults have ever personally taken steps to try and lower high blood pressure - even though they may have high blood pressure but do not realise it. Fewer than half of those questioned have ever taken any of these actions.

"High blood pressure is the main risk factor for stroke. Controlling it could prevent four out of every ten deaths from this devastating condition," says Eoin Redahan from The Stroke Association. "Obviously from these results we will have to work hard to increase knowledge of what people can do on a day-to-day basis to reduce the risks."

"Ten per cent of the population has high blood pressure, but half are unaware of this potentially lethal 'time-bomb'," he adds.

Stroke is the biggest single cause of death and disability in this country. Not smoking, eating a healthy diet, reducing alcohol intake and taking regular exercise can all help to reduce high blood pressure. In more serious cases, medication may be prescribed.

"We want people to have regular blood pressure checks" adds Eoin. "That's why in Stroke Awareness Week, starting on September 27th, the charity is aiming for 100,000 blood pressure checks at venues across England and Wales."

Technical details

MORI interviewed 1,949 adults aged 15 and over face-to-face, in-home, in 165 sampling across Great Britain, between August 20-23 1999. The data has been weighted to match national profile.