High blood pressure is so common, it affects nearly a third of the nation's adult population. A new study offers a good news-bad news picture of the disease: About half of the 65 million Americans with high blood pressure are controlling it, reaching a nationwide goal set nearly a decade ago to combat the illness. But the prevalence of high blood pressure has remained unchanged in recent years, according to research published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Back in 1988, about 27 percent of adults controlled their high blood pressure, according to the study's analysis of government data of nearly 43,000 people. The increase in those who got the illness under control is notable, say researchers, but more must be done to prevent high blood pressure, which can lead to damaged arteries, heart attack and stroke.
The research suggests more people are controlling their hypertension with medicine, not lifestyle changes. But if prevention is going to take hold, people need to change their diets and exercise, says an accompanying editorial by Dr. Aram V. Chobanian of Boston University Medical Center:
(Coincidentally, this week another study found that
not just salt, can improve blood pressure).