High blood pressure rising in the younger group--study

The stark reality is that hypertension is no longer an adult problem.

An alarming new study reveals that nearly 35 percent of Brits in the younger group have high levels of blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attacks, and kidney problems.

Lead author of the study, Shafeeque Mohammed, a health expert at UK’s Lloyds pharmacy stated, “It was particularly worrying to see the number of younger people with readings that put them in the hypertensive category. We would certainly want to explore this further.

“High blood pressure is something that most people don’t think they need to worry about until later in life, but it can affect you at any age.

“It often has no symptoms until it has become extremely severe, so it’s vital to have your blood pressure tested regularly."

Details of the study
Researchers analyzed the blood pressure tests of 8,586 people aged 16 to 34 years.

They found that just 25 percent had the recommended reading of 120/80, while the average reading of those tested was a disturbing 140/86.

The findings indicate that around 35 percent of the youngsters fall in the high risk category.

The study also found that men were more at risk than women of having a high blood pressure levels. Nearly 12 percent of them had signs of severe hypertension as opposed to nine percent of their counterparts.

In addition, it was also noted that 70 percent of the people never had their blood pressure checked despite the availability of drugs to help lower levels.

Some reasons for hypertension in the youth
According to experts, the prime reason more and more youngsters are getting hypertension is the long list of harmful lifestyle choices they are making.

The most common risk factors for high blood pressure, like poor nutritional habits, lack of exercise, obesity, and binge drinking, are at an all-time high among the youth.

Professor Eoin O’Brien, professor of cardiovascular pharmacology at The Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, said, “Lack of blood pressure control increases the chances of cardiovascular problems such as strokes, heart attacks or kidney problems.

“Recent evidence shows that although prescribing blood pressure-lowering drugs has increased, blood pressure control has not improved.

“It is apparent that prescribing alone is not the answer – people of all ages need to take their blood pressure seriously and re-evaluate their lifestyle to reduce the risk of hypertension.”