High blood pressure (sometimes called hypertension) has been nicknamed the silent epidemic because of its far-reaching consequences. Today, nearly one of every three American adults (65 million people) has high blood pressure. In 2002, high blood pressure was implicated in almost 50,000 deaths. It is the 13th largest cause of death in the United States (American Heart Association 2005). Amazingly, studies based on the well-known Framingham Heart Study have estimated that a 55-year-old person who has normal blood pressure has a 90-percent lifetime risk of getting high blood pressure (Vasan RS et al 2002). High blood pressure has been associated with damage to blood vessels in the eyes, heart, brain, and kidneys (Wong ND et al 2005).
Sadly, however, millions of Americans who think their blood pressure is under control may be wrong. Numerous studies have shown that most people treated with antihypertensive drugs (drugs that lower blood pressure) still have higher-than-optimal blood pressure (American Heart Association 2005; Hyman DJ et al 2002). According to physicians at the Baylor College of Medicine, only 27 percent of Americans who have high blood pressure have their blood pressure effectively controlled to levels below 140 mm Hg (Hyman DJ et al 2002). The problem is worse among elderly women. A study published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the high blood pressure of 77 percent of women older than 80 years was not sufficiently controlled even if they were under a physician’s care (Lloyd-Jones DM et al 2005).
Perhaps most alarming of all, in many of these studies, the optimal blood pressure target was identified as less than 140/90 mm Hg, the cutoff level normally used to diagnose high blood pressure. However, studies have shown that a level of less than 120/80 mm Hg is even safer. This means that millions of Americans are candidates for blood pressure control even though they have not been identified as having high blood pressure (Chobanian AV et al 2003).
What Is High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is a measurement of the force exerted by blood as it flows through the arteries. High blood pressure occurs when there is an increase of force against the arterial wall, with potentially damaging consequences. Among adults, a normal blood pressure measure is considered to be below 120/80 mm Hg. Any blood pressure reading higher than this reflects elevated blood pressure.
The force of blood pressure is measured in two stages: when the heart is contracting (systolic pressure) and relaxing (diastolic pressure). Blood pressure is always expressed in pressure units of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), and written as systolic over diastolic pressure. For example, a blood pressure reading of 120/80 mm Hg would mean a systolic pressure of 120 mm Hg and a diastolic pressure of 80 mm Hg.
Please see Heart Disease
