High blood pressure is a common condition with more than one in four adults in the UK.
But many won’t realise they have it, which puts them at increased risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
In a bid to significantly reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes, the NHS has revealed plans it could begin offering blood pressure pills to millions of Britons.
Current rules say patients with 140/90mmHg or higher readings qualify for treatment.
Ideal blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg.
But research has shown reducing pressure below 130mmHg cuts the risk of people having heart attacks and strokes.
An Oxford University study found each 10mmHg drop in pressure cut the stroke and heart attack risk by a quarter, as well and early death by 13 per cent.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is now looking at evidence for lowering the eligibility threshold.
The American Heart Association has already adopted the lower targets.
NICE told Pulse magazine: “We are asking some of the same questions considered in the US and will be considering some of the same evidence.”
There are a number of ways undetected high blood pressure can damage your body, according to Mayo Clinic.
Arteries
High blood pressure gradually increases the pressure of blood flowing through your arteries. As a result you may experience damaged and narrowed arteries.
The medical research group explains: “High blood pressure can damage the cells of your arteries’ inner lining. When fats from your diet enter your bloodstream, they can collect in the damaged arteries.
“Eventually, your artery walls become less elastic, limiting blood flow throughout your body.”
Hypertension can also cause aneurysm. This is when the constant pressure of blood moving through a weakened artery can cause a section of its wall to enlarge and form a bulge.
An aneurysm can potentially rupture and cause life-threading internal bleeding.
Heart
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause coronary heart disease.
Mayo Clinic says: “Arteries narrowed by coronary artery disease don’t allow blood to flow freely through your arteries. When blood can’t flow freely to your heart, you can experience chest pain, a heart attack or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
It can also cause an enlarged heart, where the heart is forced to work harder than necessary, causing the left ventricle to thicken or stiffen, limiting its ability to pump blood to the body.
Brain
Hypertension, uncontrolled, can lead to stroke by damaging and weakening the brain’s blood vessels, causing them to narrow, rupture and leak.
Vascular dementia can also be a result from narrowing an blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the brain.
Undetected high blood pressure can also affect the kidneys in a negative way.
