HIGH blood pressure and the most common heart valve disorder in high-income countries have been linked for the first time by Oxford University scientists.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, followed 5.5 million adults in the UK over 10 years.

It found that higher blood pressure in early life was associated with a significantly greater future risk of mitral regurgitation, a condition which makes the heart less efficient at pumping blood around the body, and in severe cases can lead to heart failure.

Professor Kazem Rahimi, lead author of the study, said: "Our research suggests this common and disabling valve disorder is not an inevitable consequence of ageing, as previously assumed, but may be preventable.

"Given the large and growing burden of mitral valve disease, particularly among older people, we believe these findings are likely to have significant implications for medical policy and practice around the world."

Peter Williams, 59, of Oxfordshire, experienced the condition before having surgery to repair his mitral valve in 2016.

He said: "I’ve always been an active person, but it slowed me down a lot. 'I was tired and short of breath, and struggling to walk distances that wouldn’t normally have bothered me. My breathing was so noisy at night that it actually woke me up."

Despite significant advances in the understanding of valve disease, mitral regurgitation has until now been largely considered a degenerative disorder.

This has led medical practitioners to focus on treatment – namely surgery to repair or replace the valve – rather than prevention.