Adviser information
Medical Fact Sheet
Hypertension.
Around one billion people worldwide experience hypertension.
This number is expected to increase to 1.56 billion people by
the year 2025.1
What is hypertension?
Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries with a
certain amount of pressure. This blood pressure is a combination
of the actual force that the heart uses to pump the blood and the
resistance put up by the arteries against the flow of blood.
The measurement of the heart’s pumping force is known as the
‘systolic pressure’. The resistance put up by the arteries is known
as the ‘diastolic pressure’.
The greater the resistance put up by the arteries, the greater force
the heart has to exert. As the systolic pressure and the diastolic
pressure rise, increasing damage is done to the arteries.
The result is damage to the heart, brain and kidneys, as well
as other organs. Consequently, high blood pressure, known as
‘hypertension’, predisposes a person to heart attack, stroke and
kidney failure.
In more than 90% of cases, hypertension occurs without any
apparent reason (known as ‘essential hypertension’). Sometimes
it may be secondary to other medical problems such as a kidney
or endocrine condition e.g. diabetes.
Categories of blood pressure
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg)
and recorded as the systolic pressure number over the diastolic
pressure number.
The following table details categories of blood pressure in adults
aged 18 and over (who do not have serious short-term illnesses).
Category
Systolic
Normal blood pressure
and
< 80
120 – 139
or
80 – 89
Stage 1
140 – 159
or
90 – 99
Stage 2
160 ≥
or
100 ≥
Pre-hypertension
Hypertension
Diastolic
< 120
Risk factors
Common risk factors for hypertension include:
•age
•family history
•being overweight or obese
•sedentary lifestyle
•smoking
•a diet high in salt
•excess alcohol consumption
•stress
•chronic conditions e.g. cholesterol, diabetes,
kidney disease and sleep apnoea.
Symptoms
Hypertension is also known as ‘the silent killer’ because it does not
typically exhibit symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage.
Once the condition reaches this stage, the individual may
experience dull headaches, dizzy spells and nosebleeds.
Diagnosis
Doctors diagnose hypertension after performing blood
pressure tests using an inflatable cuff and an instrument
called a sphygmomanometer.
1 http://www.sld.cu/galerias/pdf/servicios/hta/global_burden_of_hypertension.pdf – Viewed 15 February 2012
Tests may be done several times on separate occasions e.g. at least
twice, one or more weeks apart (but sooner if hypertension is
severe) to make sure the results are correct.
Some people are very nervous in a doctor’s surgery. This can
result in false high readings. This ‘white coat syndrome’ can be
partially overcome by the client wearing a blood pressure machine
for 24 hours. This machine then takes the blood pressure at various
times during both the day and night.
The average of these readings gives a truer picture of the blood
pressure for the client.
Effect on health
Hypertension does not usually produce any symptoms and the
body’s organs can tolerate high blood pressure for a long time.
As a result, most people can be completely unaware they have
the condition.
Following are the steps in the treatment of hypertension:
1) True hypertension is established by taking at least three
readings daily for two or more days.
2) The correction or treatment of any underlying cause for
the hypertension is commenced.
3) Lifestyle changes are undertaken e.g. weight loss, low salt
diet, regular exercise and, most importantly, the cessation
of smoking.
4) Appropriate medications are needed when the three steps
above are not wholly successful. Medications can reduce
the blood volume, help with heart muscle contractions and
reduce the resistance put up by the arteries.
Underwriting hypertension
The factors considered in underwriting hypertension include:
Considering this, it is important to recognise the value of regular
medical check-ups to monitor any increase in blood pressure.
•the nature of the insurance policies applied for
Over time, undetected or uncontrolled hypertension is a major
risk factor for stroke and coronary heart disease. Additionally, it
is a contributor to chronic heart failure (CHF) and chronic kidney
disease (CKD). Effectively, the risk of disease increases as the level
of blood pressure increases.
•the presence or otherwise of hypertension complications
Blood pressure tends to rise as we get older. However, a healthy
lifestyle including regular physical activity, a high fibre/ low
fat/low salt diet, a healthy weight range and not smoking
or drinking to excess will assist in maintaining normal blood
pressure throughout life.
Treatment
Hypertension can usually be managed by an individual’s general
practitioner. However a specialist’s assistance is usually sought
if the blood pressure is difficult to control. This may also be the
case in the event of complications such as kidney disease or a
secondary cause for the hypertension.
•whether or not the client has ceased smoking
•the compliance of the client to treatments given
•the stability or otherwise of the blood pressure control
and the length of time this stability has been present.
Other risk factors for vascular disease are also taken into
consideration including:
•being overweight or obese
•excess alcohol consumption
•cholesterol and other lipid levels
•the presence or otherwise of diabetes or pre-diabetes,
gout and family history.
Accelerated Protection for hypertension
TAL’s Accelerated Protection Critical Illness insurance covers
Heart Attack and Chronic Kidney Failure as insurable events.
TAL’s Accelerated Protection Income Protection insurance also
enables your client to claim if the effects of their hypertension
results in their inability to work.
For full details, please refer to the Accelerated Protection
Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Document.
For more information:
TAL’s Adviser Service Centre on 1300 286 937
Monday to Friday 8am – 7pm AEST
[email protected]
www.tal.com.au
Important Information: This information has been prepared for use by advisers only and is not intended to be provided to clients. Before making any decision about the products, advisers and their clients
should consider the Accelerated Protection or Accelerated Protection for Investment Platforms Product Disclosure Statements and/or Policy Documents. If there is any inconsistency between this document
and the Product Disclosure Statement or Policy Document, the terms of the Policy Document will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency. Current as at: July 2013.
This document is issued by TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237 848 (TAL).
TALR0747/0713