Don’t have to see GP to check your blood pressure

WE would all like to live longer healthier lives. One key strategy is building our health literacy - our ability to understand and use health information.

- Giuseppe Bignardi

Reading the medical news is useful. The Independent recently reported that high blood pressure can start early in life and is a “silent killer”. This report was based on a study showing that mildly elevated blood pressure in our 30s increased the risk of heart attack later in life. The authors concluded that “lifelong blood pressure control is an investment in how well the heart ages”

Although diseases are frequently brought about by a combination of causes, high blood pressure is an important contributor to many conditions. The list is long and includes ischemic heart disease, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, aortic aneurysm, stroke, dementia, renal impairment, various eye conditions, and erectile dysfunction.

So, what is blood pressure? It is the pressure in the arteries, the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Some pressure is necessary to keep the blood moving, but too much is harmful.

Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers separated by a slash: systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number). It tends to increase as we get older.