High blood pressure is an extremely serious and increasing problem which now affects more than 72 million American adults. It really does seem unbelievable but that means that 1 in 3 adults in the US suffer from high blood pressure. With around 60 million Americans now over the age of 55 this also means that Americans have a 90 percent chance of suffering from hypertension at some point in life. Additionally, if you are an African American then you are far more likely to develop hypertension than other ethnic groups and are also likely to suffer from hypertension earlier in life and more severely.

However that is far from the end of the story as there are now around 20 million Americans suffering from diabetes and an almost unbelievable 142 million Americans who are either overweight or obese and both of these groups are at greater risk of suffering from hypertension.

So just why should we worry about suffering from hypertension?

Hypertension is a very serious condition which can easily lead to other life-threatening conditions like heart disease, which is the main cause of death in the US today, and stroke, which is presently the third highest cause of death. In fact hypertension is a contributory factor in 2 out of 3 heart attacks in the United States and in over three quarters of all strokes.

Hypertension is also the chief reason for visits to the physician and even a quite small decline in the number of visits of around ten percent could save somewhere in the region of $450 million dollars every year. In total it is estimated that the cost of treating hypertension and its associated complications costs the American economy approximately $100 billion every year.

So just what is the answer to the problem?

First and foremost, the answer lies in educating individuals about the problem of hypertension and how to avoid developing it. The vast majority of of people suffering today effectively cause the problem themselves because of their lifestyle. A poor choice of diet, a lack of exercise, too much drinking and smoking are all causes of high blood pressure and are all entirely within our own control.

The second thing we must do is to get people into the habit of checking their blood pressure on a regular basis as unfortunately it is a condition with very few if any symptoms to warn us of its approach. Nowadays there are a number of excellent and reasonably inexpensive home blood pressure monitors (including several Omron blood pressure monitors with a world-wide reputation for excellence) which are quick and simple to use and could quite literally save your life.

Filed under: General Health

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