Canadian Baby Boomers Reach Dangerous Levels of High Blood Pressure, Warns Hypertension Canada

Canadian Baby Boomers Reach Dangerous Levels of High Blood Pressure, Warns Hypertension Canada


TORONTO, April 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Hypertension Canada warns that up to half
of Canadian Baby Boomers have high blood pressure or will develop high
blood pressure within the next few years - which will have serious
ramifications for health and the country's health care system. Adding
to the scenario are troubling disparities between provinces that
highlight the importance of healthy lifestyle for hypertension
prevention and treatment.



"A diagnosis of hypertension (high blood pressure) or prehypertension
should be an immediate wake-up call to Canadian Baby Boomers," says
cardiologist and Hypertension Canada spokesperson, Dr. Beth Abramson. 
"Only the front edge of the Baby Boom generation has reached age 65,
but already one out of every four, or approximately 2.2 million
Boomers, has been diagnosed with hypertension.  High blood pressure is
a major contributor to heart, renal and cerebrovascular disease - even
though it is highly  preventable and treatable."



Recent estimates show up to 7.3 million Canadians currently suffer from
hypertension compared to from nearly 5.8 million only five years ago, a
26% increase.



Because of its tremendous impact upon health and mortality, the World
Health Organization has made high blood pressure the major focus of the
World Health Day, celebrated this year on April 7, 2013. Worldwide,
high blood pressure is responsible for 9.4 million deaths each year.



High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is reaching a dangerous
tipping point among Canadian Baby Boomers. Not only do 23% of Canadian
Boomers have hypertension, but another 23% are pre-hypertensive. Those
with pre-hypertension have elevated blood pressures and are at a high
risk of developing hypertension within the next few years.



"We know that up to a third of those with hypertension do not have their
blood pressure controlled and so are at high risk of complications,"
says Dr. Ross Feldman, past president of Hypertension Canada and a
hypertension researcher. "High blood pressure increases a woman's risk
of dying by 34% and a man's risk by 44%."



Dr. Janusz Kaczorowski, spokesperson of Hypertension Canada at the
University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, stresses that if Baby
Boomers want to live to see their retirement - let alone be healthy
enough to enjoy it - lifestyle changes will be needed.



"This can only happen if the governments at all levels start
implementing policies to ensure that Canadians have access to healthier
foods and live in communities that actively support physical activity,"
he says.



High blood pressure costs the Canadian healthcare system approximately
$2.4 billion in direct healthcare costs and another $166.3 million in
lost productivity. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, notes Dr.
Norm Campbell.  Even moderately-elevated blood pressure can double the
risk of heart disease or stroke or triple the risk of end stage renal
disease (kidney failure). The higher the blood pressure, the greater
the risk.


Age and where you live affects your risk -- but it doesn't have to


The number of people with high blood pressure increases dramatically
with age, ranging from a low of 2.5% among those 20 to 34 years of age,
to 46.8% among those 65 and over.  Rates also differ across Canada,
being highest among Boomers in Newfoundland and Labrador (32%) and
lowest in British Columbia (20%).  This variance reflects regional
differences in dietary behaviours, weight, and physical activity.







__________________________________________________________________________________
| Region | Percentage of Baby Boomers 45-64 (2009/2010) |
| |__________________________________________________________________|
| |Poor| Physical |Overweight| High | Pre- | Combined |
| |diet|inactivity| or Obese | blood |hypertensive| hypertensive + |
| | | | |pressure |(estimated) |pre-hypertensive|
| | | | | (self- | | |
| | | | |reported)| | |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Canada |58% | 51% | 60% | 23% | 23% | 46% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Nfld/Labrador |68% | 56% | 70% | 32% | 32% | 64% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| PEI |65% | 50% | 61% | 21% | 21% | 42% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| N.S. |66% | 52% | 68% | 27% | 27% | 54% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| N.B. |64% | 53% | 70% | 28% | 28% | 56% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Quebec |51% | 51% | 58% | 23% | 23% | 46% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Ontario |58% | 53% | 60% | 24% | 24% | 47% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Manitoba |67% | 53% | 68% | 23% | 23% | 46% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Sask |63% | 56% | 66% | 25% | 25% | 50% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| Alberta |64% | 51% | 62% | 23% | 23% | 46% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|
| B.C. |57% | 43% | 53% | 20% | 20% | 40% |
|_______________|____|__________|__________|_________|____________|________________|



Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2009/2010
CANSIM table 105-0502

"Poor diet" indicator reporting eating <5 servings fruit/vegetables per
day

Rates for prehypertension weighted to reflect provincial rate of
self-reported hypertension



"Over half of people with pre-hypertension will be diagnosed with high
blood pressure within four years," says Dr. Pierre Larochelle,
President of Hypertension Canada at the Institut de recherches
cliniques de Montréal (IRCM).  "Stopping the progression from
pre-hypertension to hypertension could help to stem Canada's high blood
pressure epidemic and save millions of Canadians from years of poor
health."



People who are obese or have diabetes have a three times greater risk of
high blood pressure.  The risk of high blood pressure is also higher
for Aboriginal Canadians and Canadians of South East Asian or Black
ancestry.



"By 2031, all Baby Boomers will have reached age 65," says cardiologist
Dr. Chi-Ming Chow, Hypertension Canada spokesperson.  "If Baby Boomers
don't take action now, by 2031 up to two-thirds will have hypertension
or prehypertension.  High blood pressure will have a tremendous impact
upon the sort of health Baby Boomers will enjoy in retirement.  It's
hard to enjoy your retirement if you end up hospitalized with a heart
attack or stroke or have to go for dialysis three times a week."


Call to action

Federal Governments


-- Work with non-governmental sectors to operationalize the Pan
Canadian Framework on Hypertension Prevention and Control, a
discussion paper outlining key indicators and targets for 2020,
and key recommendations to improve the prevention, management
and control of hypertension in Canada.
-- Implement policies that make it easier for Canadians to access
healthy food choices. Key policy areas include: reducing
sodium additives in foods, restricting unhealthy food and
beverage marketing directed at children, requiring healthy food
in public settings, warning labels on unhealthy foods and
recovering the costs of disease caused by unhealthy foods
through taxation.

Provincial Governments


-- Implement standardized clinical guidelines for the screening,
diagnosis, treatment and management of cardiovascular diseases
that includes hypertension in Canada

To Canadians


Hypertension Canada advises all Canadians, but particularly Baby
Boomers, to practice good blood pressure health.  This includes:



-- Having your blood pressure checked regularly by a healthcare
professional
-- Eating a healthy, low-salt diet, low in saturated and trans fat
with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables
-- Regular physical activity for at least 30 to 60 minutes at
least five to seven days a week
-- Achieving or maintaining a healthy weight
-- If you drink, consuming no more than two drinks/day and never
binge drinking.
-- Being tobacco free


Hypertension Canada is the country's authoritative voice on the
management of high blood pressure. Committed to delivering positive
benefits to the 7.3 million Canadians living with high blood pressure
on a daily basis, Hypertension Canada is an influential collaboration
of researchers, clinicians, and policy makers dedicated to advancing
health through the prevention and control of high blood pressure and
its complications.



 


SOURCE Hypertension Canada

Video with caption: "VIDEO: Canadian Baby Boomers Reach Dangerous Levels of High Blood Pressure, Warns Hypertension Canada". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20130403_C2099_VIDEO_EN_25057.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20130403_C2099_PHOTO_EN_25057.jpg&clientName=Hypertension%20Canada&caption=VIDEO%3A%20Canadian%20Baby%20Boomers%20Reach%20Dangerous%20Levels%20of%20High%20Blood%20Pressure%2C%20Warns%20Hypertension%20Canada&title=CNW%20VIDEO%20SERVICES%20%2D%20Canadian%20Baby%20Boomers%20Reach%20Dangerous%20Levels%20of%20High%20Blood%20Pressure%2C%20Warns%20Hypertension%20Canada&headline=Canadian%20Baby%20Boomers%20Reach%20Dangerous%20Levels%20of%20High%20Blood%20Pressure%2C%20Warns%20Hypertension%20Canada

Hypertension Canada

CONTACT: Elissa Freeman for Hypertension Canada 416.565.5605/elissafreeman@gmail.com


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