Having seen a friend survive a hypertensive brain haemorrhage but left with lifelong disability, I disagree. But her blithe response reminds me of the relevance of guidelines issued by the National Hypertension Taskforce of Australia. Hypertension, defined as a blood pressure over 140/90, is by far the leading risk factor for preventable deaths.
High blood pressure is common enough to have entered the vernacular as in this person raises my blood pressure. But of the one in three Australians that has hypertension, half don't even know it.
We ignore hypertension at our peril because it is a silent killer. Unlike many other chronic conditions, hypertension seldom causes symptoms, afflicts young and old, and is highly treatable.
Indeed, for a lethal condition, its image as a benign bystander poses a major public health dilemma. If you are hypertensive, chances are you don't even know it.
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