It is estimated that around a quarter of the UK’s adult population have hypertension rates above recommended levels. Experts believe that a number of factors, such as cardiac output and the stiffness of the arteries, may help predict which people are likely to develop hypertension in later life.

To examine this theory, researchers from the University of Cambridge, supported by the British Heart Foundation, are to begin a study of 2,000 18-23 year olds who will be followed over the next 30 years.

Dr Ian Wilkinson, one of the key researchers, explained, “If we can use the cardiac output and arterial stiffness of such a large group of young adults to predict who will develop high blood pressure, it may enable us to intervene with early treatment of those most at risk – and so develop a ‘cure’ for high blood pressure.”

In the initial three years of the study, the researchers will also investigate recent evidence to suggest that high blood pressure may not be a single disorder, but could develop in three distinct forms.

These include classical essential hypertension, which is the most common form of the disorder in 25-50 year-olds; isolated systolic hypertension, caused by stiffening of the arteries and mainly affects the over-60s; and systolic hypertension in youth – a form of the disorder that is usually associated with the elderly, but which recent studies suggest also occurs in the young.

Dr Wilkinson added, “In a recent pilot study we discovered that as many as one in ten young people were affected by systolic hypertension. As yet the condition is poorly understood and we hope to investigate its causes and incidence through our research. With a clearer understanding of this form of high blood pressure, we can decide if and how those affected should be treated.”

© HMG Worldwide 2003
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