ABSTRACT
The detection and treatment of essential hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure, forms a major preventive strategy in reducing risks of cardiovascular disease. However, although the diagnosis of hypertension identifies an asymptomatic state whose significance lies purely in the relationship between blood pressure elevations and risks of coronary heart disease and stroke, people with this medical diagnosis may nevertheless undergo processes of adjustment to bearing a medical label which signifies their increased risk of cardiovascular events. Controlling blood pressure also often requires long-term drug therapy and attending regular blood pressure checks as well as reducing weight, modifying dietary intake and other lifestyle changes. The ‘labelling’ and treatment of high blood pressure thus imposes various costs on patients, including the need to cope with what Bury (1988) refers to as ‘meaning as significance’, in terms of the effects of the condition on the individual’s sense of self and the reactions of others around them.
