55,000 local people have high blood pressure

Almost 55,000 people in the borough have high blood pressure, with only 58% being officially diagnosed and treated, it has been revealed.

Figures released by Public Health England show that 54,700 is the estimated total number of suffererslocally, only 31,500 of which are official data. However, the figures do show that local people getting diagnosed is in fact above the national average.

According to the document, people in deprived areas are 30% more likely than the least deprived to have hypertension (high blood pressure). In 2015, 44.7% of the population of the borough live within the most deprived 30% of all areas in England using a weighted measure of the population. The other risk factor is being above the age of 65, which is 17.6% of the borough’s entire population.

Lorraine Oldridge, Director of National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network, Public Health England, said: “We’re proud to be launching these profiles in order to help lower the prevalence of high blood pressure which still remains a public health problem across all regions in England. By providing hard data local authorities can see how they compare to nearby regions and set new targets to reduce their levels of hypertension amongst their population.”

In Rochdale Borough 8.7% of patients have not had a record of their blood pressure in the last five years. The levels of blood pressure recording varies between 80.7% and 98.6% at practice level.

High blood pressure (hypertension) is one of the leading risk factors for premature death and disability and can lead to conditions including stroke, heart attack, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and dementia. A blood pressure reading over 140/90mmHg indicates hypertension, which should be confirmed by tests on separate occasions to reach a diagnosis. Diseases caused by high blood pressure cost the NHS over £2billion every year.

It is recommended to have regular exercise, eat a balanced diet and a limit alcohol intake in order to manage high blood pressure.