HYPERTENSION

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a significant risk factor for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension can be prevented and managed through healthy lifestyle behaviours such as regular physical exercise, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, limiting alcohol intake and quitting smoking. Hypertension can be monitored through regular measurement of blood pressure and controlled with lifestyle changes, such as diet or exercise, and/or the the use of blood pressure lowering medications.¹

Definitions In this chapter, people with hypertension are defined as those persons 18 years and over who had measured high, very high, or severe blood pressure (a systolic reading of 140 mmHg or more and/or a diastolic reading of 90mmHg or more) or were taking hypertension medications. Hypertension medications consist of the categories Antihypertensives (C02), Diuretics (C03), Beta blocking agents (C07), Calcium channel blockers (C08) and Agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system (C09) from the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System.2

In 2014-15, 14.6% of all Australians aged 18 and over, or 2.6 million people, reported having hypertension as a current long-term condition. However when based on measured blood pressure, and the use of hypertension medications, the estimate of people with hypertension more than doubles to 6.0 million, or 33.7% of people aged 18 years and over. This population comprised 23.0% of Australian adults who had high/very high/severe blood pressure and an additional 10.7% who had low or normal blood pressure but were taking hypertension medication. Looked at another way, there were 2.9 million Australians whose blood pressure was high or very high, but who did not report (and therefore who may have been unaware) that they had high blood pressure.

Men were slightly more likely to have hypertension than were women (35.4% compared with 32.2% respectively). Hypertension was significantly more prevalent at older ages, with around 8 in 10 people aged 75 years and over having hypertension (81.5% of those aged 75-84 years and 83.7% of those aged 85 years and over). This compared with only 1 in 10 (10.7%) of people aged 25-34 years.





Of all people with hypertension, just over three-quarters (78.6%) were overweight/obese and 42.3% reported doing a very low amount or no exercise in the last week. In comparison, of people without hypertension (i.e. those with low or normal blood pressure who were not taking hypertension medication), just over one-half (55.6%) were overweight/obese and 30.5% reported doing a very low amount or no exercise in the last week.





Endnotes:
1. Heart Foundation, Cardiovascular conditions, <https://heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/know-your-risks/blood-pressure>, Last accessed 14/02/2017.
2. WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, Dec 2012, Structure and principles, <https://www.whocc.no/atc/structure_and_principles/>, Last accessed 14/02/2017.