European Society of Hypertension Information

20th European Meeting on Hypertension" will be held in Oslo on June 18-21, 2010
See www.esh2010.com for further details

The Irish Heart Foundation’s Council on HIGH Blood Pressure was established in 1996 to offer support, expertise and reference to the on-going work of the Foundation concerning Blood Pressure.

Our work

Since 2002 population salt reduction and improving the methodology for measuring blood pressure have been the key issues, chosen by the Council, for advocacy.  

Since then the Council has campaigned publicly concerning the dangers of excess salt consumption - the Irish Heart Week 2004 public awareness campaign slogan was "For a Happy Heart - Time to cut down on Salt." The Council has also liaised behind the scenes with governmental bodies and the food industry advocating the reduction of salt in a wide range of food products.  It is at least in part due to the efforts of the Council, that the Food Safety Authority of Ireland was able to announce in 2005, a 10-15% reduction in added salt to all key processed foods.  This step, particularly if it is repeated, as promised in subsequent years, will lead to significant declines in mean BP of the Irish population, and will prevent up to thousands of strokes and heart attacks in Ireland annually.

In 2006 and 2008 the Irish Heart Week campaign focused on blood pressure awareness and control. The theme of the 2006 Irish Heart Week was "Love your heart, know your blood pressure." The key objective was to encourage those aged over 35 years to have a blood pressure check, as a first step towards reducing cardiovascular risk. Central to the 2008 campaign "Love your heart, lower your blood pressure" was the message that blood pressure must be managed to correct levels by the individual and their doctor.

For all three campaigns, information leaflets and magazines were developed for the public, and there was considerable media coverage in the main national broadcast and tabloid press. So as to reinforce these messages the Council also worked with Irish Council of General Practitioners (ICGP), and held GP seminars on the dangers of salt, and on the benefits of good blood pressure control. As part of the 2008 campaign, all 2,300 members of the ICGP received a copy of the ESC pocket guidelines on hypertension.  

Membership

Membership of the Council for Blood Pressure includes representatives who are General Practitioners, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Cardiovascular Nurses, Dieticians Epidemiologists, Public Health Professionals, Clinical Pharmacologists, Cardiologists, Hypertension specialists, Stroke Physicians and Consultants in Care of the Elderly. To date the Council has worked particularly close with primary care physicians in improving the detection and management of high blood pressure in the community. Strong links with the cardiology and health promotion departments in all hospitals has helped heighten awareness on hypertension through Irish Heart Foundation materials and national campaigns.