WEDNESDAY, April 11, 2007 (HealthDay News) -- High blood pressure is the most common, reversible risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide, says an editorial in the journal Hypertension.
About 72 million people age 20 and older in the United States have high blood pressure. Almost 30 percent of them don't know they have the condition, also known as hypertension, and 65 percent of them don't have it under control.
It's estimated that 972 million people worldwide had high blood pressure in 2000, and that number is expected to increase to 1.56 billion by 2025, the editorial said. It was written by Dr. Daniel Jones, president-elect of the American Heart Association, and John Hall, the editor of Hypertension, to mark World Hypertension Day on May 17. The day is held to promote prevention and control of high blood pressure.
"High blood pressure is easily detected and usually controllable. World Hypertension Day is an opportunity to remind us to pay more attention to this risk factor," Jones, who is also vice chancellor of health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, said in a prepared statement.
Hypertension is associated with many health problems, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and diabetes. High blood pressure is systolic pressure at or above 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure that is 90 mm Hg or higher. Prehypertension is systolic pressure of 120-139 mm Hg and/or diastolic pressure of 80-89 mm Hg. People with prehypertension are advised to make lifestyle changes to lower their blood pressure and prevent hypertension.
Small changes in blood pressure can have a major impact. The editorial authors cited a study of one million people that suggested that a 3-4 mm Hg increase in systolic pressure would translate into a 20 percent higher stroke death rate and a 12 percent higher death rate from ischemic heart disease.
The impact on cardiovascular disease would be even greater in people with other risk factors such as obesity and diabetes.
To prevent hypertension, people should have their blood pressure checked routinely and live a healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, drinking alcohol in moderation, and eating a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat and sodium, Jones and Hall wrote.
People with hypertension should monitor it and keep it controlled under a doctor's care, they said.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to lowering high blood pressure.
