Blood pressure mystery

The Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper, leads today with the strange headline: “Blood pressure epidemic spiralling as doctors warn our lifestyle is killing us”. Although it may be true that the number of Britons with high blood pressure is soaring the article clearly lacks perspective. It remains the case that life expectancy is rising overall. So it is hard to see how the headline can be true except in the obvious sense that most of us could be said to have a modern lifestyle and we all eventually die.

As it happens the Lancet, a British medical journal from which the Mail drew its material for the article, does argue that hypertension is becoming more of a problem. However, it also points out that there are very effective and cost-effective treatments available.

To the extent there is a problem it needs to be put in its proper context.