Blood Pressure in Adults

  • One in three adults in the UK – 16 million ­– has high blood pressure, but one in three don’t know they have the condition.
  • High blood pressure (diagnosed as readings consistently at or above 140/90mmHg) is the main risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor for heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease.
  • High blood pressure is responsible for 60 per cent of strokes and 40 per cent of heart attacks.
  • It is a symptomless condition – that’s why it’s called the ‘silent killer’.
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High blood pressure and age

Blood pressure has a tendency to go up as you get older, but it can develop at any age. For example, in the UK:

  • 20 per cent of people in their 20s have high blood pressure;
  • 40 per cent of people in their 40s have high blood pressure;
  • 60 per cent of people in their 60s have high blood pressure.

Even if you have a healthy normal blood pressure now, you should be taking action to maintain this, as this will slow the rate at which your blood pressure rises, and could help you to avoid high blood pressure, and the need to take blood pressure lowering medication, later in life.

High blood pressure and women:

UK BP charity holds it annual event – Blood Pressure Testing Week – every year in the second week of September read about last years testing week

Blood Pressure Testing Week 2009 runs 7-13 September.
This is the nation’s biggest blood pressure testing event – last year almost 250,000 people had a free blood pressure check during The Week.

Other stats from last year’s Testing Week reveal:

  • 34 per cent of women who had a free blood pressure check had a high blood pressure reading.
  • 72 per cent of women did not know their blood pressure numbers before they had a free blood pressure check

Get a free blood pressure check!

This year during The Week thousands of ‘pressure stations’ in supermarkets, pharmacies, health centres, workplaces and health clubs nationwide will again be offering free blood pressure tests and information to hundreds of thousands of people.

And if you miss out on Testing Week (7-13 September), don’t worry – you can always nip down to your GP’s for a free blood pressure check, and many high street and supermarket pharmacies also offer this service.