Recent University of Cambridge research has revealed that rising stress and blood pressure levels due to the current credit crunch could potentially cause thousands of deaths around the world.

Further research undertaken by Friends Provident in association with the Blood Pressure Association came with a recommendation that most people would benefit from taking out Income Protection Insurance.

Their rearch has highlighted some disturbing facts:

56% of respondents are now spending less on food; Worries about the economic situation left 19% sleeping less and 15% declared they now work longer hours.

21% said they had used gyms less, many to try and save money.

7% confessed they had increased their alcohol intake since the onset of the credit crisis, and 9% expected to increase their alcohol intake during the next six months.

If you are concerned about your health you should always visit your local doctor. You can also take a pro-active approach and keep a regular blood pressure check with one of the many over the counter blood pressure monitoring kits available at you local chemist .

The Blood Pressure Association have also provided some useful facts about high blood pressure*:

  1. High blood pressure is a level consistently at or above 140mmHg and/or 90mmHg.
  2. 31 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women have high blood pressure.
  3. People with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke and twice as likely to die from these as people with a normal blood pressure.
  4. Approximately 62,000 unnecessary deaths from stroke and heart attacks occur due to poor blood pressure control.
  5. Look after yourself, if you have any concerns, consult your GPHigh blood pressure is the main risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor for heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease. There is also increasing evidence that it is a risk factor for vascular dementia.
  6. One in three adults in the UK (16 million) have high blood pressure.
  7. Around a third of people with high blood pressure do not know that they have it, as there are no obvious symptoms. This is why it is often called the ’silent killer’.