Hypertension

Posted by Maria Honse on October 19th, 2016

Hypertension or high blood pressure is known as the “silent killer”. This is because in most individuals, hypertension causes no symptoms. Unfortunately, in many patients, the first time hypertension is diagnosed is when they suffer their first stroke or first heart attack.

Hypertension is a major contributor to the development of cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease death, heart failure and sudden cardiac death) and affects almost 25% of the Singapore population. The prevalence of hypertension increases with age such that more than half of all people older than 65 years have a blood pressure of > 140/90mmHg.

The prevalence, the fact that the attributable risk of stroke due to hypertension is > 60% and that of heart attack approximately 40-50%, and that treating hypertension can prevent or postpone cardiovascular eventshas led to high blood pressuretreatment becoming a major focus of primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention. Hypertension is now one of the most common conditions treated in primary care in Singapore.

Hence, blood pressure screening either in the primary care setting or as part of mass public health screening would prevent many individuals from developing the potentially devastating cardiovascular complications of hypertension.

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