Barbados are among the people in the region suffering with the highest incidence of high blood pressure, which can lead to sudden deaths and heart attacks.
As Barbados joined in marking World Hypertension Day, Dr Adrian Lorde, during an address to the Church of Christ the King yesterday, said while the condition was one of the most easily reversible causes of death, it must be properly measured, monitored and treated.
Yesterday’s observance was aimed at combatting the low awareness of the condition and Lorde spoke on the topic Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer.
Hypertension was the leading cause of death in Barbados and the Caribbean, he said, citing figures of a study done “years ago” showing that 21 per cent of adults in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago suffered with elevated blood pressure. The 2015 figures show that 42 per cent of the adults over the age of 20 years had high blood pressure.
“In Barbados and in the Caribbean we have higher than normal rates of high blood pressure. Is it because we have more access to medical care? Is it because we are more lazy or we have a good transportation system? Is it because we have more persons who are inactive or we have some obesity in the country? We don’t know and studies are going on to show this,” said the doctor. (AC)