Raised blood pressure - hypertension
It is estimated that 14% of deaths from coronary heart disease in men and 12% of deaths from coronary heart disease in women are due to raised blood pressure (also termed hypertension). Raised blood pressure is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or over, or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or over. Six per cent of deaths from coronary heart disease in the UK could be avoided if the numbers of people who have high blood pressure were to be reduced by 50%. Blood pressure is influenced by salt and alcohol intakes, weight, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity. The mean systolic blood pressure for men in England is 136 mmHg, and for women is 132 mmHG. In England, 40% of men and 39% of women have, or are being treated for raised blood pressure.
High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, damage to the eyes and atherosclerosis. There are no external signs of high blood pressure, leading to many people having it for years or even decades without noticing.
Trends in raised blood pressure
Since 1993, the mean systolic blood pressure in England has fallen, although this fall has been more pronounced in women than in men and also in older compared with younger age groups.
Raised blood pressure and age
Mean systolic blood pressure increases with age in both men and women, rising from 127 mmHg in men aged 16-24 to 145 mmHg in men aged 75 and over, and from 132 mmHg to 155 mmHg in women. Over half of women aged 55-64 and just under three-quarters of women aged 65-74 have raised blood pressure.
Social and ethnic variations in raised blood pressure
Raised blood pressure is more common among women in manual social classes than those in non-manual classes but the pattern is less clear in men.
Bangladeshi and Chinese men are around 25% less likely to have high blood pressure than men in the general population. In women, Pakistani and Black Caribbean women are around 25% more likely to have high blood pressure than women in the general population.
The difference in rates of decline in mortality between manual and non-manual social classes described above is probably attributable to the difference in smoking rates between the two groups.
The difference in rates of decline in coronary heart disease mortality between minority ethnic groups and the general population has not been entirely explained.
This is partly due to the limitations of using death certificates for health research since these currently record the country of birth, which does not necessarily reflect ethnicity.
Genetic, lifestyle and social explanations may all contribute to the difference in coronary heart disease mortality between minority ethnic groups and the general population but research is limited and minority ethnic groups tend to be under-represented in national surveys.
Also see our nutrition section
Raised blood pressure - hypertension
The causes of raised blood pressure
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