High blood pressure remains Australia’s top killer for three decades, emphasising a critical need for nationwide interventions to tackle the silent threat, new research reveals.
About 34 percent of adults have high blood pressure, yet it’s often overlooked in national health plans, particularly in Australia, which lags in managing hypertension.
Better diets and less smoking are key to lowering high blood pressure, and a 25 percent drop in its occurrence in Australia could save about 37,000 lives each year.
Cardiovascular Professor Alta Schutte said it was “past time” for Australia to act.
She explained Australia fell far behind other wealthy nations in controlling blood pressure, despite having the best tools to combat heart disease and stroke.
“Prevention, detection, and effective treatment are our best weapons against heart disease and stroke. We have these weapons, and we should be using them,” she said.
It comes as just 32 percent of Australians with hypertension have brought their blood pressure down to a healthy level, a stark contrast to Canada, where that figure is 68 percent.
Moreover, half of Australians with high blood pressure are unaware they have it.
Besides its connections to severe heart conditions, high blood pressure is tied to cognitive decline, worse outcomes in COVID-19, kidney issues, and pregnancy complications.
However, it can be managed effectively with lifestyle adjustments and medication.
The arrival of new medications saw high blood pressure a factor in about one in four deaths in Australia in 1990, dropping to about one in seven by 2010 and staying the same in 2019.
Similarly, it was involved in over half of cardiovascular-related deaths in 1990 but decreased to about 44 percent by 2010 and remained the same in 2019.
Despite the initial improvement, Prof. Schutte pointed out that progress has stalled in the past decade, with a need for more attention and funding.
“We know from the existing body of evidence that the initial effect was likely due to the arrival of new medications,” she said.
“It is hard to pinpoint exactly why we are losing ground, but we do know that refocusing on ensuring effective detection and treatment in primary care would move the dial.”
She added significant progress could be made now, given the availability of improved treatment options.
“Single pill combination therapies that combine two or three low-dose blood pressure lowering medications in one not only more effective in lowering blood pressure, but also easier for people to take consistently, and cheaper,” she said.
Notably, it was found age and gender impact the risk of death from high blood pressure, raising concerns about potential gaps in treating his age group.
High blood pressure contributed to more stroke-related deaths in men aged 25-49 years compared to other age groups, surpassing 60 percent and rising significantly from 1990 to 2019.
The National Heart Foundation’s Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Garry Jennings, pointed out that high blood pressure can happen at any age.
“So it is an important thing to screen for in people of any age or sex,” he said.
“In particular, men younger than 50 would be advised to have their blood pressure checked at their next GP appointment.”
Nevertheless, the researchers noted Australia has one of the world’s top health systems, boasting one of the highest life expectancies globally at 82.8 years, with significant improvements in health metrics over recent decades.
The researchers from The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Sydney studied Australian data from 1990 to 2019 to identify the main risk factors for overall deaths and cardiovascular deaths during that time.
They are part of the National Hypertension Taskforce, which aims to raise Australia’s blood pressure control rates from 32 percent to 70 percent by 2030.
Progress In Australian Cardiovascular Healthcare
Cardiologist Professor Stephen Nicholls confirmed significant advancements in Australia’s cardiovascular healthcare initiatives.“But in the 1980s, scientists found that if you give medication to bust up the clots that block blood vessels and cause heart attacks, patients did much better. Then they discovered that if you lower both blood pressure and cholesterol, you lower the risk of heart attack and stroke,” he said.
He affirmed that these two vital discoveries, found through careful clinical trials and research, have saved many lives.
Even with progress in heart medicine, he mentioned the ongoing need to learn more about heart health as just a routine aspect of the field.
Dr. Chengxue Helena Qin commented, noting that new insights offer ways to address underlying issues linked to high blood pressure.
She mentioned several overlooked factors, including patients struggling to control high blood pressure due to stiff blood vessels, while healthy ones should stretch easily.
“There are so many things that contribute to stiff vessels in hypertension—for example the intake of salt, lack of exercise, stress, genetics,” she said.
“We need to tackle the underlying problem, not one single factor.”
