People who forget to look at the bottom number in a blood pressure reading may want to check again. When uncontrolled, both measures of blood pressure can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Neurological diseases are the world’s largest cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), or years of healthy life lost to due to death or disability, according to a systematic analysis performed for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, the most current overview of the way neurological diseases are affecting people around the world.

In 2015, there were 1.13 billion people living with high blood pressure worldwide, with the majority of them in low and middle-income countries.

In an analysis of risk factors that contribute to the burden of stroke in 188 countries, researchers found that lifestyle factors related to poor diet, low physical activity, and high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, unhealthy diet, and low physical activity continue to be major drivers of stroke, but air pollution has emerged as a formidable risk factor, especially in low-income and middle-income countries.

A new global study has identified high blood pressure, smoking and high body mass index as the top three avoidable risk factors for death and disease among adults worldwide.

ASAPP is featured in the February 2015 online issue of World Neurology.

The stroke epidemic has arrived in India. While we were busy combating the scourge of infections and deficiency diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including stroke stealthily crept up on us.

High blood pressure is costing the NHS more than £2 billion a year, new Public Health England (PHE) figures reveal. It affects one in three UK adults, yet around five million aren’t aware of it because often it is symptomless – which is why it’s dubbed the ‘silent killer’.

25 May 2014 – ASAPP President and Founder Dr. Jerome Chin announced today that ASAPP has provided more than 50,000 free screenings for high blood pressure to individuals in Uganda and India combined since the organization’s launch in 2011.

High blood pressure, diabetes and other “lifestyle diseases” are no longer just for the rich and are wreaking havoc among South Africa’s poor.