Is modern life raising our blood pressure?

Study of remote communities in Venezuelan rainforest sheds fresh light on hypertension

Doctor's stethoscope
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The common consensus that higher blood pressure is an inevitable consequence of aging has been upended by a newly published study about two isolated Amazon tribes.

According to the researchers, hypertension may actually be a result of certain aspects of Western lifestyles, “such as high levels of salt in the diet, lack of exercise and heavy drinking”, The Guardian reports. As the newspaper notes, high blood pressure is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

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