New study shows potential stroke risk of prehypertension

A new Chinese study has suggested that any blood pressure reading above normal may increase a person's risk of stroke.

Scientists at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou have analysed a total of 19 prospective cohort studies with more than 760,000 participants to assess the risk of developing stroke among people with prehypertension.

The analysis found that people with pre-high blood pressure were 66 percent more likely to develop a stroke than those with normal blood pressure, even after adjusting for other risk factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking.

Prehypertension applies to those with blood pressure that is higher than optimal but lower than the threshold to be officially diagnosed with high blood pressure. The new study suggests this condition could be dangerous in its own right.

Study author Dr Dingli Xu of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, said: "Prehypertension should be managed with changes in diet and exercise to help reduce the risk of stroke. More research should be done on using blood pressure drugs for people with prehypertension."

Blood pressure is considered a serious health issue in the UK. Earlier this month, the government launched a new pilot screening scheme in Wakefield that will facilitate the diagnosis of high blood pressure among those in the local community.