Nearly Half of Americans Have Uncontrolled High BP
Nearly Half of Americans Have Uncontrolled High BP
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of Americans with high blood pressure are not properly controlling their condition, increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease, a new government report shows.
About 47 percent of people with high blood pressure have not brought their numbers to a normal range, through either lifestyle changes or medications, according to data published Nov. 12 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That's actually a huge improvement: Back in 1999, more than 68 percent did not have their blood pressure under control, the report found.
But it's far short of the federal Healthy People 2020 goal, which calls for fewer than 40 percent of people with high blood pressure to have it uncontrolled by that date, according to the CDC researchers.
Experts agreed that the problem is still significant.
"I don't think we have enough positive information to be cheering," said Dr. Patrick O'Gara, executive medical director of the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Although the trend is positive, the magnitude of the problem is self-evident. We have a lot of work to do."
High blood pressure is defined as 140 or higher systolic pressure (the top number) and 90 or higher diastolic (the bottom number). Systolic is the pressure of blood in the vessels when the heart beats, and diastolic is the pressure between beats.
The overall rate of high blood pressure in the United States has remained constant, hovering between 28 percent and 29 percent, the new report found.
Two in three people over the age of 60 have high blood pressure, and one in three people between the ages of 40 and 59 have the condition.
What improvements there have been in controlling high blood pressure have not benefitted all groups in the United States.
Whites are most likely to have their blood pressure under control, close to 56 percent, the CDC report showed. Blacks (48 percent under control), Asians (43 percent) and Hispanics (47 percent) are all more likely to be living with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Nov. 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of Americans with high blood pressure are not properly controlling their condition, increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease, a new government report shows.
About 47 percent of people with high blood pressure have not brought their numbers to a normal range, through either lifestyle changes or medications, according to data published Nov. 12 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That's actually a huge improvement: Back in 1999, more than 68 percent did not have their blood pressure under control, the report found.
But it's far short of the federal Healthy People 2020 goal, which calls for fewer than 40 percent of people with high blood pressure to have it uncontrolled by that date, according to the CDC researchers.
Experts agreed that the problem is still significant.
"I don't think we have enough positive information to be cheering," said Dr. Patrick O'Gara, executive medical director of the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Although the trend is positive, the magnitude of the problem is self-evident. We have a lot of work to do."
High blood pressure is defined as 140 or higher systolic pressure (the top number) and 90 or higher diastolic (the bottom number). Systolic is the pressure of blood in the vessels when the heart beats, and diastolic is the pressure between beats.
The overall rate of high blood pressure in the United States has remained constant, hovering between 28 percent and 29 percent, the new report found.
Two in three people over the age of 60 have high blood pressure, and one in three people between the ages of 40 and 59 have the condition.
What improvements there have been in controlling high blood pressure have not benefitted all groups in the United States.
Whites are most likely to have their blood pressure under control, close to 56 percent, the CDC report showed. Blacks (48 percent under control), Asians (43 percent) and Hispanics (47 percent) are all more likely to be living with uncontrolled high blood pressure.