Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

High blood pressure — hypertension — affects around one in three adults in the UK, and many are unaware they have it. It rarely causes symptoms, yet it is the single most important treatable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease. The good news: properly diagnosed and treated, blood pressure can almost always be brought under control — and the risks with it.

Untreated hypertension is the leading modifiable cause of:

• Heart attack and coronary artery disease — high pressure accelerates the artery narrowing process
• Stroke — both through artery damage and by promoting atrial fibrillation
• Heart failure — years of pumping against high pressure thickens and stiffens the heart muscle
• Kidney disease and vision problems

Treating high blood pressure is one of the most effective preventive interventions in all of medicine — every 10-point reduction in systolic pressure significantly cuts the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

A single raised reading in a clinic does not mean you have hypertension. Some people have "white coat" hypertension— readings that are high in medical settings but normal at home. Others have the opposite, masked hypertension — normal clinic readings but high pressure in daily life, which is easily missed and carries real risk.

This is why accurate diagnosis matters before committing to lifelong treatment. The gold standard is 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) — a small cuff worn for a day and night that records your true pressure through normal life and sleep. I arrange this routinely, alongside guidance on reliable home monitoring.

Your first appointment lasts up to 30 minutes and includes:

1. A review of your blood pressure history — clinic, home and any previous monitoring readings, plus current and previous medications
2. A cardiovascular risk assessment — cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, weight, family history and lifestyle
3. A physical examination and resting ECG performed in clinic
4. A plan for accurate diagnosis and heart assessment — including ambulatory monitoring and echocardiography where needed

Assessment answers three questions: is your blood pressure truly high, has it affected your heart, and is there an underlying cause? I can arrange rapid access to:

• 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring — the gold-standard diagnostic test
• Echocardiogram — an ultrasound checking whether high pressure has thickened or strained the heart muscle
• ECG — looking for signs of heart strain or rhythm problems such as atrial fibrillation
• Blood and urine tests — kidney function, cholesterol, diabetes screening, and hormonal tests where a secondary cause is suspected
• Further imaging — where an underlying cause such as a kidney artery or hormonal problem needs to be excluded, particularly in younger patients or resistant hypertension

Around 1 in 10 cases of hypertension has an identifiable underlying cause — more common in people under 40 or those whose pressure resists standard treatment. Finding it can transform, and sometimes cure, the condition.

Lifestyle measures are the foundation and genuinely effective: reducing salt, achieving a healthy weight, regular activity, moderating alcohol, and stopping smoking. For some patients with mildly raised pressure, these alone are enough.

Medication is recommended when lifestyle measures aren't sufficient or your overall risk is high. Modern blood pressure drugs are effective and generally well tolerated, and treatment is personalised — the right combination depends on your age, other conditions and how you respond. Most patients achieve good control with one or two medications; my aim is always the simplest regime that reliably protects you.

Resistant hypertension — pressure that stays high despite three or more medications — deserves specialist review. This includes confirming the diagnosis with ambulatory monitoring, checking treatment is optimised, and screening thoroughly for underlying causes.

Whatever your treatment, follow-up focuses on the number that matters: your actual blood pressure control over time, not just repeat prescriptions.

• Consultant Interventional and Structural Cardiologist — assessing not just the blood pressure number, but its effect on your heart and your overall cardiovascular risk
• Accurate diagnosis first — routine use of 24-hour ambulatory monitoring before committing you to lifelong treatment
• PhD from King's College London and over 100 peer-reviewed publications
• Rapid access — same-week appointments at Heart Health Welbeck London (Marylebone), Cromwell Hospital (Kensington), The Wellington Hospital (St John's Wood), Bupa Health Care Canary Wharf, The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (Basildon)
• Consultations in English and Turkish
• Recognised by all major private medical insurers; self-paying patients welcome

High blood pressure can be silently — but diagnosed and treated well, its risks can be dramatically reduced. Contact my practice team to arrange a consultation at one of my London or Essex locations.

Contact Ms Amelia Garner (PA) on 020 3198 9826 or drozandemir.sec@outlook.com to arrange a consultation.