Blood Pressure Levels Across The Globe Show Surprising Drop

In a huge study involving 38 populations across 21 countries, reserachers have found that blood pressure levels across the globe are inexplicably dropping.

"Blood pressure did not go down in all of the populations, but it went down in most of them," said Prof Tunstall-Pedoe, who led the World Health Organization MONICA study conducted between 1980s and 1990s. . "The change was not great, but it did appear to have a cross- population effect. Most importantly, blood pressure went down at all levels - in people with high blood pressure who may be on drugs but also in people with low or medium levels." This drop in blood pressure could not be explained away by the sue of drugs, he added since there was a reduction not only in individuals at risk of high blood pressure but also in low and medium blood pressure segments. "There is a lot more to health than popping pills," said Tunstall-Pedoe, a professor of cardiology and epidemiology at Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, in Dundee, Scotland. "There is a greater dimension to blood pressure and its control than simply a prescription of medication. We showed that low blood pressure and mid-blood-pressure readings came down as much as high blood pressure readings in these populations." Modern lifestyle with its fast pace and stress is naturally pre-disposed to high blood pressure. But this has not happened according to the report appearing in the online edition of the British Medical Journal.