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Hypertension - signposting (2024)
Preface and notes
Preface
This is a compilation of key existing research and evidence, including links to publicly accessible content and sites with restricted access for registered users. It is not a comprehensive list of all resources available.
All links are related to hypertension. This list is not exhaustive.
The data sources and weblinks are verified and trusted sites.
Some sources are restricted to Public Sector & NHS professionals, these are denoted with a **.
Introduction
Hypertension, also described as continuous high blood pressure, can put extra strain on:
blood vessels
the heart
the brain
kidneys
eyes
Persistent hypertension can increase the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening health conditions, such as:
heart disease
heart attacks
strokes
heart failure
peripheral arterial disease
aortic aneurysms
kidney disease
vascular dementia
erectile dysfunction
high blood pressure during pregnancy
Even small reductions in blood pressure can help lower the risk of these health conditions.
Blood pressure is recorded with 2 metrics:
the systolic pressure (higher number) is the force at which the heart pumps blood around the body
the diastolic pressure (lower number) is the resistance to the blood flow in the blood vessels between heartbeats when blood is pumped around the heart
Normal blood pressure ranges from 90 to 120 systolic and 60 to 80 diastolic. Low blood pressure is below these thresholds.
High-normal blood pressure is 120 to 140 systolic and 80 to 90 diastolic. High blood pressure is over 140 for systolic and over 90 for diastolic.
It's not always clear what causes high blood pressure, but some factors can increase the risk, such as:
living with obesity
having a diet that is high in salt and low in fruit and vegetables
not doing enough regular exercise
drinking too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks)
smoking
continued and serious levels of stress
being over 65 years old
having a relative with high blood pressure
being of Black African or Black Caribbean descent
living in a deprived area
having certain underlying health conditions
taking certain medications
Healthy lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and help lower blood pressure if it's already high.
High blood pressure often has no or few symptoms. Identifying people with undiagnosed hypertension is important in helping to reduce and/or manage their blood pressure to prevent and reduce the risk of developing more serious conditions.
This has been an aim embedded in:
recent NHS national and local initiatives such as Core 20+ Plus 5
focused work via general practices and community pharmacies such as BP@home
By March 2022, the prevalence of hypertension in Brighton & Hove, as recorded on GP practice registers, was 9.6% of the total population or 31,515 people. This is the 11th lowest prevalence of the 152 upper-tier local authority(1) areas in England.
This compares to a prevalence of:
14.1% for the South East
14.0% for England
The percentage of people with hypertension in Brighton and Hove is lower compared to England. There has been no significant change in the prevalence of hypertension in Brighton & Hove or England since 2012/13 (figure 1).
Figure 1: Trend - Hypertension QOF prevalence (%) (all ages) trend, Brighton & Hove and England, 2012/2013 to 2021/2022.
the single biggest condition where lives can be saved by the NHS over the next 10 years
The NHS Long Term Plan sets the ambition for the NHS to help prevent over 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases by 2029. The Plan outlines how the NHS, partners in the voluntary and community sector and other national organisations will meet this ambition.
The Major Conditions Strategy 2023 framework identifies 6 groups of conditions which are collectively the greatest contributors to ill health and early mortality, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). They cause over 60% of years lost to early death or lived in ill health. It recognises that people may have more than one of these conditions and aims to work on addressing similar causes and risk factors.
Core20PLUS5 (adults) – Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities at both national and system levels. The approach defines a target population – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas including hypertension case finding that requires accelerated improvement.
Local intelligence resources
The JSNA executive summary is a local report on the current and future health, social care and wellbeing needs of the population of Brighton & Hove.
The JSNA executive summary includes:
information from existing in-depth needs assessments
health and social care data
local views and experiences
Community Insight is a community mapping and reporting tool specific to Brighton & Hove and the surrounding areas. You can use this tool to view, compare and report on related datasets through maps, dashboards and reports at different geographic levels.
The National General Practice Profiles, (OHID) support GPs, Primary Care Networks (PCNs), integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to ensure they're providing and commissioning effective and appropriate healthcare services for their local population.
This information includes:
individual practice profiles
summary profiles for PCNs and other geographies
Each practice can be compared with an ICB sub-location (formerly clinical commissioning groups - CCGs), PCNs and England.
Data Explorer (CVD Prevent, NHS) is a tool from The Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Audit (CVDPREVENT), a national primary care audit informed by GP data. This tool provides open access at Sussex, Brighton & Hove, Primary Care Networks or GP practice level.
The tool also includes:
inequalities markers
the impact on those with learning difficulties
Adults' health: Hypertension - NHS Digital provides regular survey information that cannot be obtained from other sources. The Health Survey for England is used to estimate:
the proportion of people in England who have health conditions
the prevalence of risk factors and behaviours associated with certain health conditions
National intelligence resources with national-level data
The information quantifies health loss from hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors so that health systems can be improved and disparities can be addressed.
Intelligence resources on the potential risk factors of hypertension
Eating a balanced diet (NHS) gives guidance for a healthy, balanced diet. The information also explains the relationship between too much salt and hypertension.
Exercise overview - (NHS) gives exercise guidelines and workouts to help improve your fitness and wellbeing.
Practical Guide to Healthy Ageing (NHS & Age UK) gives advice that may help improve the health and general fitness of people of any age, but it's written to be particularly relevant for people about 70 years or older.
Healthwatch (Brighton and Hove) (“Healthwatch”) is the independent watchdog engaging with people and patients from across the city to gather their views, experiences and ideas on health and social care services.
They work to ensure:
NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear the patient's voice
use the feedback to improve care
Community Works supports the voluntary, community and social (VCS) enterprise sector.
Community Works is the local VCS infrastructure organisation in Brighton & Hove. Every 5 years they publish a financial and social audit of the sector called “Taking Account”. View the most recent Taking Account report.
Non-governmental/voluntary and community sector intelligence resources
Blood Pressure UK is a UK charity dedicated to lowering high blood pressure. Alongside information about blood pressure, resources include:
The guidelines aim to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes by helping healthcare professionals diagnose hypertension accurately and treat it effectively.