Meet the Editors
Dr Rachel Climie, PhD AEP
What is your current position?
Research Fellow and Exercise Physiologist at Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
What are you currently involved in?
My research is focused on the ageing of the blood vessels (vascular ageing), the consequences of premature, or early vascular ageing (such as in patients with diabetes or cancer) and how exercise can be used to prevent or delay this. As an Exercise Physiologist, I am very interested in the prevention of chronic disease and as such have recently started working on premature vascular ageing from early life. I am the lead of an international consortium, the Youth Vascular Consortium, which is exploring the determinants and consequences of early vascular ageing in the young.
Why hypertension research? How did this become your focus area?
Since I was an undergraduate student, I have always been fascinated by the heart, due to its role as our life source. This, combined with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death worldwide and hypertension being the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, sparked my interest in this field of research.
What piece of advice would you give to young scientists/labs/companies?
My top piece of advice that I would give to young scientists, labs or companies is to find your “why”. Understanding why you do what you do helps to keep you focused and motivated, especially when faced with adversity, which is often in the work that we do.
What kind of Journal of Human Hypertension publication would you like to see more of?
I would like to see the Journal of Human Hypertension publish more papers related to paediatric health (hypertension). 57% of children are currently predicted to be obese by the age of 35 years and global rates of hypertension in children and adolescents have increased by 75% from 2000 to 2015. Thus, there is likely to be an ensuing tsunami of ill health and economic burden as today’s children age. More work is required to understand the scale and probable consequences of the problem, so that preventative strategies can be put in place early.
What important piece of advice would you give to hypertension patients?
95% of cases of hypertension are ‘essential’ hypertension, meaning there is no specific cause, but it is likely due to a number of lifestyle factors. Importantly, most people with hypertension don’t want to be taking medication to manage their blood pressure. So, to those with hypertension, the most important advice I can offer is to consume a heart healthy diet and to regularly engage in physical activity – even small bouts, as some is better than none at all!
