Regularly monitoring your blood pressure can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a study.

Measuring your blood pressure. It's a simple gesture, but one that is rarely done . Doctors from Oxford, after compiling 450 clinical studies conducted on hundreds of thousands of patients, have highlighted the importance of knowledge and management of hypertension, reports Le Parisien .

Having hypertension means having a blood pressure reading above 14/9 cmHg (a unit of pressure). Each millimeter of reduction in blood pressure can "significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and therefore mortality," Professor Atul Pathak, director of the National Institute of Cardiology in Luxembourg, told our colleagues.

A drug put forward

It's also important to treat hypertension as soon as it's detected. And avoid "yo-yoing" with your blood pressure. Many patients are unaware of their condition or don't take their medication correctly.

And then some cases of hypertension are more complex than others. At the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, one drug caught the attention of specialists. It can lower blood pressure "with very few side effects," says Professor Pathak. Another avenue, which would avoid taking too many medications, would be a treatment with injections every six months.