The city MP has met with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to discuss the need to tackle high blood pressure, which is linked to around half of heart attacks and strokes in the UK.
There are 12,233 people in Portsmouth South living with high blood pressure, but the impact of the pandemic means there may be many more who don’t know that they have this often symptomless “silent killer”.
Stephen heard that the BHF is calling for urgent Government action to tackle a ticking timebomb that puts thousands of lives at risk from heart attacks and strokes over the coming years.
The charity applauds efforts to find and treat more people with high blood pressure but says Government could do more to stop people getting it in the first place. The best way to do this is tackling one of its leading contributors – too much salt in our diets.
Up to 85 per cent of the salt we eat is already in our food when we buy it. A 2022 report from the BHF states that reducing the UK’s average daily salt intake to within safe limits could result in 135,000 fewer new cases of coronary heart disease in the UK by 2035, and 1.4 million fewer people living with high blood pressure in 2035.
The Portsmouth South MP has met with the BHF to discuss how the Government can save more lives from heart attacks and strokes by tackling the amount of salt in our food, and ultimately save the UK economy billions.
Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“It was really helpful to meet with the BHF about how so much of the salt we eat is already in our food when we buy it, putting us at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, and as a result, heart attacks and strokes.
“Improving the nation’s heart health can help prevent people from needing treatment for chronic conditions that would see them join ever-growing NHS waiting lists.
“I am committed to working with the BHF to explore how we can prevent more lives lost in Portsmouth to heart attacks and strokes by addressing the country’s daily salt intake.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, said:
“There are around 15 million people in the UK living with high blood pressure who are at a higher risk of a life-threatening heart attack or stroke. Tackling this silent killer would be a winning move to save countless lives and ease pressure on our desperately overstretched NHS.
“We simply must act now if we’re to overcome this deadly problem, and this must include addressing one of the main contributors to high blood pressure – the amount of salt in our everyday foods. This could help keep families together for longer, and prevent a crisis waiting to happen.”
