Everyone above the age of 55, should consider taking drugs to lower their blood pressure, a London-based expert says.
Blood pressure drugs cut the risk of heart attack and stroke even for those with normal blood pressure, says Epidemiology expert Professor Malcolm Law. His researched was published in the British Medical Journal. The same was backed by other experts and is based on a review of 147 studies, involving 464,000 people.
The studies looked into the effect on two blood pressure measurements.
Professor Law, an expert in epidemiology at the Wolfson Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine, said: “Beyond a certain age, we’re saying everyone would benefit from taking drugs that lower blood pressure. Beyond a certain age, we all have high blood pressure and we would all benefit from lowering it. What we call ‘normal’ blood pressure is actually high, and what we call high blood pressure is actually higher.”
Proffessor Law believes the drug should be available as a vaccine in the event of a flu. It should be made universal. Almost everybody is potentially at risk of having blood pressure.
Mike Rich, of the Blood Pressure Association, said: “Prevention is better than cure, but there are other proven ways to prevent high blood pressure such as healthy eating and regular exercise, which have other health benefits too. There is a danger that these important lifestyle factors could be overlooked in favour of ‘popping a pill’.”
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