One in four people over the age of 40 has hypertension, which can lead to serious illness, the Hospital Authority says.
A community survey conducted by the authority last year and released yesterday showed 27.6 per cent of people over 40 had not checked their blood pressure in the previous 12 months.
Nearly $1 billion is spent and at least 300,000 bed days incurred treating patients with serious diseases caused by hypertension, such as stroke and heart disease, the authority said.
People were not aware of the importance of regular blood pressure checks, said Vivian Wong Taam Chi-woon, the authority's director of professional service and medical development.
'There are no noticeable symptoms for hypertension. The only way to find out is to measure blood pressure regularly,' she said.
People over 30 are encouraged to have their blood pressure checked each year, she said.
