HEALTH bosses must do more to tackle high blood pressure, a new report says.

The common condition is the cause of nearly 300 strokes and 200 heart attacks every year.

Published today, the report follows an inquiry into high blood pressure, consulting both with people living with the condition and healthcare professionals.

It calls on the Scottish Government to take a more coordinated approach to tackling high blood pressure, its causes and its impact on Scotland’s health by introducing a High Blood Pressure Task Force.

Professor Rhian Touyz, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Glasgow University, is a global expert in high blood pressure who was also Canada Research Chair in Hypertension.

Professor Touyz said: “The achievement of healthy levels of blood pressure is crucial to efforts to reduce heart and circulatory disease in Scotland.

"The creation of a high blood pressure task force would allow efforts to be concentrated on tackling this condition and improving the cardiovascular health of people in Scotland.

"We know from the experience of other countries, like Canada, that adopting a coordinated approach can help us take steps to reach this important, yet achievable goal.”

High blood pressure affects an estimated 1.3 million adults in Scotland, but fewer than a third of those people have their blood pressure treated and controlled to recommended levels.

The condition is often referred to as ‘the silent killer’ because it does not usually have any symptoms, so people may not realise that they have it.

Yet it is a leading risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases, which cost the NHS in Scotland an estimated £800 million each year, and causes more than a quarter of all deaths.

The inquiry has been conducted by the Cross-Party Group on Heart Disease and Stroke in the Scottish Parliament.

The group is made up of MSPs, clinicians, patients and third sector organisations, including British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland, Stroke Association and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.

It identifies a number of areas for the task force to prioritise, including the need to increase early detection through community-based programmes and improve the number of people taking their medication as prescribed.