A new campaign to help with wide-scale screening against ‘the silent killer’ that is high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, has been announced today on World Hypertension Day.
The initiative has seen not-for-profit organisation Hypertension Australia partner with healthcare products company Omron to distribute a new and accredited blood pressure device to pharmacies throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Image: Professor Markus Schlaich.
Dobney Chair in Clinical Research at UWA’s Medical School Professor Markus Schlaich, who is President of Hypertension Australia, said the initiative would allow wide-scale screening for elevated blood pressure which is often undetected in the community.
“Hypertension Australia and the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance teamed up to create the National Hypertension Taskforce in 2022, with the goal to help 70 per cent of Australians control their blood pressure by 2030,” Professor Schlaich said.
“Despite high blood pressure being the greatest risk factor for Australia’s top three killers of coronary heart disease, stroke and dementia, only half of the one in three Australian adults who have it know about it, and only a third have it under control.
“To bridge this gap, and to help more people identify and manage their condition before it leads to serious health problems, it’s crucial to provide widespread screening and education about this ‘silent killer’.
“Notably, the new device also identifies atrial fibrillation, an often-neglected repercussion of elevated blood pressure.”
Simon Mitchell from distributer JA Davey said Omron was honoured to be linked with the distribution of its atrial fibrillation blood pressure monitor in pharmacies throughout Australia and New Zealand.
“This initiative aligns seamlessly with Omron’s guiding principle of ‘creating solutions for a better quality of life’,” Mr Mitchell said.
The rollout of devices across the next few months will be accompanied by provisions of training material for pharmacists and educational materials for consumers.
