Heart Research UK is urging for the protection of workers’ health and the support of employees’ wellbeing. Their latest figures show a concerning number of workers referred to their GP with high blood pressure or cholesterol readings.
Heart Research UK is urging for the protection of workers’ health and the support of employees’ wellbeing. Their latest figures show a concerning number of workers referred to their GP with high blood pressure or cholesterol readings.
Since 2023, the charity has completed health checks on employees across the nation. These discovered one in three workers were referred to their GP for dangerously high blood pressure or cholesterol readings.
These figures show that 33% of people were referred to their GP or had clinically high undiagnosed blood pressure and/or cholesterol readings.
From these health checks, 75% of people had blood pressure readings that put them at an increased risk of heart disease, with 27% of people referred to their GP for high blood readings.
A further 60% had cholesterol readings that put them at an increased risk of heart disease, with 23% of people referred to their GP with a high reading.
If high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels are left untreated it can cause heart disease, which is life-threatening.
Other contributing risk and lifestyle factors that contribute to heart disease are stress, being overweight, not doing enough exercise, smoking and drinking too much alcohol or caffeine.
Within this data, 69% were classed as overweight or obese, 78% drank alcohol and 11% were smokers or used e-cigarettes.
Amie Leckie, Workplace Health and Wellbeing Specialist, said:
“It is essential that we protect the health and wellbeing of employees to create a healthy work environment. This new data highlights a need for more interventions to be put in place to support employees and employers. More people are unaware that they have high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which can lead to an increased risk of heart disease.
“Stress from work and lack of exercise among other factors associated with the workplace can be a contributor to high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. At Heart Research UK, we are determined to support employees and employers to create a space where employers can champion employee wellbeing. We must safeguard the health of workers across the UK today.”
Recent national figures also support these findings showing that nearly 30% of those out of work due to long-term sickness have a condition related to their heart or circulatory system.
Earlier this year, the NHS also launched a new national campaign aimed at the ‘missing millions’ who have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
In the UK, due to high blood pressure rarely having any symptoms, approximately three in 10 adults remain undiagnosed, equating to 4.2 million people in England.
This data was collected as part of Heart Research UK’s workplace health services, which aims to tackle this issue by identifying and addressing the health needs of staff, using data to determine the key areas of focus for improving individual and organisational wellbeing.
The research was conducted by Heart Research UK’s Health Promotion and Education team, among a sample of 254 people across England with an average age of 42. The data was collected between 01/08/23 and 01/08/24.
