People with high blood pressure are at an increased risked of getting cancer and dying from it, according to a major new study.
Higher than normal blood pressure is linked with a 10 to 20 percent increased risk of cancer in men.
Women with high blood pressure were also found to be at a slightly greater risk for certain types of cancer, including cancers of the liver, pancreas, cervix, womb, and skin.
The research was led by Dr. Mieke Van Hemelrijck of King’s College London and examined almost 600,000 people over 12 years.
Said Dr. Van Hemelrijck, who presented the findings at the European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm: “Although the relative and absolute risk estimates were rather modest, these results are important from a public health perspective since a large proportion of the population in many western countries suffers from hypertension.”