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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ranjana Srivastava

Knowing your blood pressure could save your life

Blood pressure test
‘Of the one in three Australians that has hypertension, half don’t even know it.’ Photograph: Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images

“I feel fine,” she says, brushing the crumbs off her top. “What’s the fuss for?”

I have dashed to my patient’s bedside after being summoned about her blood pressure of 220/105 mm Hg, thrice checked. In my head, I am running through a list of catastrophic consequences, including a brain haemorrhage, that could destroy her life in an instant.

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