High-stress lifestyles fuelled by alcohol and fast food that leave no time for exercise are leading to more cases of high blood pressure and threaten an epidemic of heart disease across the globe.

Known as the “silent killer” because it is symptomless but deadly, high blood pressure can damage major organs and lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia.

It already affects one in four adults globally - about one billion people - and causes an estimated seven million deaths from cardiovascular disease a year. The figure is set to increase by 60 per cent over the next two decades if nothing is done, says a report by three international health experts.

Launched at the European Parliament in Brussels, the report,High Blood Pressure and Health Policy, calls for better education, improved health care and greater efforts to persuade people to change their lifestyles. The authors hope the statistics will prompt a campaign to tackle repeatedly high blood pressure, known as hypertension.

Previous studies have shown that people who suffer from chronic stress at work are more likely to develop high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. The Whitehall studies that followed 10,000 civil servants beginning in the 1980s found those who most often reported “job strain” had a higher incidence of the medical conditions.

Researchers at University College London, reported in the British Medical Journal last year that there was evidence for the “biological plausibility of the link” with stress.

Earlier results from the Whitehall studies suggested the best way of combating stress was to climb the ranks. Researchers found the lower a man’s status the more likely he was to die young and that the more control a person had over their work the less stress they suffered.

Panos Kanavos, a health economist at the London School of Economics and one of the authors of the report, sponsored by the drug company Novartis, said: “For individuals, changing your lifestyle is key. Obesity, high salt intake and lack of exercise are all contributory factors and these are made worse by stress. This is not a problem confined to middle age - it starts in the twenties and thirties.”

Huge gains have been made against heart disease, with a halving of deaths in the past 30 years thanks to better treatment and the fall in smoking.

But the report warns that these gains could “stagnate or reverse” without increased efforts to change lifestyle and improve treatment. Dr Kanavos said: “Just because deaths have fallen sharply does not mean they may not rise again. We have become complacent about the achievement - we should not rest on our laurels.”

The biggest problem, according to the report, is the failure of those diagnosed with high blood pressure to stick to their treatment. Dr Kanavos said: “This is a major issue. Around 50 per cent of patients drop out of treatment within the first six months.

“The problem is that you do not feel bad with high blood pressure. There are no symptoms and you feel fine. But in three, five or seven years you could develop heart disease and have a heart attack.”

Jan Ostergen of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, another of the report’s authors, said tackling the causes of high blood pressure demanded immediate action by the global community.

“European public health officials are only now beginning to realise that we need to do a better job at reducing cardiovascular health risks and that controlling high blood pressure is a key means for doing this.

“Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a public health dilemma that requires an urgent global and national response.”

How to cope with commuting

* Research by Nottingham Trent University has revealed nine methods of dealing with the daily commute.

1. Self-generated audio coping: singing/humming/talking to yourself.

Dr Glenn Williams said “sub-audible talking or singing” was used to reduce stress by most of the study’s 561 travellers.

2. Planning for the day or after-work activities.

Dr Williams said: “Commuting can be used as a transition time, to enable people to prepare for the next part of their day.”

3. Cognitive work: on a laptop computer, reading.

Dr Williams warns that “going straight from working on a laptop to plugging into a computer at work does not provide much of a break”.

4. Other audio-coping: listening to music/books.

However, beware that turning up the volume may be increasing the stress levels in other commuters. 5. Oral gratification: chewing gum, talking on a phone, chatting with other commuters, eating.

“Talking with others reduces a sense of isolation on a journey,” Dr Williams said. But he added that chatting to strangers may be ineffective if others feel a sense of urgency over their journey.

6. Religious/spiritual.

Praying can reduce stress, though reaching a higher spiritual plane may be tricky if you are crammed beneath another’s armpit.

7. Emotion-focused coping: anger, admiring attractive people.

Popular, though Dr Williams warns against “stalker syndrome”.

8. Substance use: tobacco and alcohol.

May alleviate anxiety, but this method is associated with people with low levels of resilience to commuter stress, and is not effective in the long term.

9. Psychological/medical.

Dr Williams said: “I would not suggest that doctors should be prescribing medicines to cope with a commute, but employers could help by offering tele-commuting or supporting employers so they can avoid the rush hour.”