Ms Kathryn Reilly:

The data we have currently on hypertension – that cascade – is more than ten years old. The data we have on levels of hypertension awareness, control and management is more than years old and came from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA. We need to update it, particularly given the role of hypertension and high blood pressure in cardiovascular disease. The importance of that came out in our prevention paper. Whether it is looking at the tools we have in terms of Healthy Ireland or a broader study the Department Health would undertake, data is key. While we have some of that date because the likes of the Irish Heart Foundation and Croí do blood pressure checks in terms of mobile health units and those studies, having a national data level is important. We would need something like TILDA replicated but not just looking at the older populations but looking at the younger populations as well.