The first ever recorded blood pressure was done by Stephen Hales in 1733 with a glass tube inserted into the artery of a horse. It would be well over a century for us to develop a non-invasive technique to measure blood pressure and another century to understand its significance.
Today, hypertension is one of the most common conditions facing General Practitioners. However, in the pursuit of lower blood pressure, can we be causing unnecessary harm by overprescribing and/or increasing doses with little to no benefit? Is this a case where less is more (or preferable)?
Our special guest is Professor Simon Dimmit who is a consultant physician in General and Cardiovascular Medicine. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle.