More New Zealanders have high blood pressure than they or the Government thinks, according to the results of a national testing drive, which found 32% of Queenstowners tested had blood pressure readings of "concern".
The Stroke Foundation's "Down With Blood Pressure" campaign was held at three spots in the resort and Frankton, in conjunction with St John Wakatipu, Queenstown Lions Club and Wakatipu Primary Health Organisation, over three days in September.
The groups completed 349 free blood pressure tests in the Wakatipu and found 111 of them showed elevated blood pressure, which is a major cause of strokes, the second-largest cause of death in New Zealand.
At 32%, this was lower than the Otago average of 42%.
Wakatipu residents tested tended to be in the 36 to 65 age range and there was a bias towards the 60 to 65 age groups.
Those aged under 35 were in the "considerable minority", foundation southern South Island co-ordinator Judith Hyslop said yesterday.
Of the 1967 people in Otago who took the test at 11 supermarkets around the region, 42% showed high blood pressure.
Normal blood pressure is about 120 over 80, but blood pressure consistently above 140 over 90 is deemed to be high.
The lower the pressure the better.
Dr John Fink, Stroke Foundation medical adviser, said in a statement high blood pressure put stress on the walls of the blood vessels and could cause them to break down, eventually leading to a stroke.
It can also speed up common forms of heart disease that can lead to stroke and cause blood clots or plaque to break off the artery walls and block a brain artery, causing stroke.
"Any raised blood pressure is a concern to the foundation," Ms Hyslop said.
"High blood pressure is the hidden killer - people don't know they've got it."The latest checks suggested rates of high blood pressure may be much higher than the one in five figures quoted for New Zealand, based on the seven-year-old New Zealand Health Survey, and much higher than people themselves thought.
At a glance
Of the 349 Wakatipu people who took advantage of the free blood pressure tests in September:
- 111 showed elevated blood pressure.
- 46 of those 111 were referred to a doctor.
- 327 did not know their blood pressure beforehand. 209 of those tested were women and 140 men.
