A quarter of Irish people have never had their blood pressure checked or have no recollection of ever having had it checked, according to the results of a new survey.
The finding has been described as "very worrying" by the health promotion manager of the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF), Maureen Mulvihill. This is because blood pressure, if it is high and goes unchecked, can be a leading cause of heart attack and stroke, resulting in death and disability.
Many people, however, do not get their blood pressure checked because they have no symptoms, but Dr Alice Stanton, a clinical pharmacologist with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, pointed out that high blood pressure rarely causes any signs or symptoms until damage to blood vessels is well advanced.
She said this was why it was important for adults over 35 years to have regular blood pressure checks. "Every adult over the age of 35 should have their blood pressure checked at least every five years," she said.
If their blood pressure was found to be normal they would only need a check every five years but if it was borderline it should be checked again a year later, she said. She urged those who had never been checked to make arrangements within the next month to have their blood pressure measured.
A mix of factors cause high blood pressure. These include genes and lifestyle factors such as eating too much salt, not eating enough fruit and veg, being overweight and not taking enough exercise. Dr Stanton said that because of the variety of factors causing high blood pressure, even individuals with a healthy lifestyle should have their blood pressure checked.
Details of the blood pressure survey were released yesterday in advance of Irish Heart Week which takes place next week and during which the IHF aims to highlight the importance of keeping a healthy blood pressure.
The survey was carried out among a random sample of 1,000 adults by Lansdowne Market Research last month.
It also found that more than half of Irish people do not know the reading for normal blood pressure, which is a reading of 120 over 80 (120/80). The higher figure records blood pressure at its highest when the heart contracts, squeezing out the blood from the heart, and the lower figure records blood pressure when the heart relaxes.
Lifestyle changes would be recommended for a person with a blood pressure of 135/80 and medication would be recommended for people with a blood pressure of 140/90, Dr Stanton said.