High blood pressure - also called hypertension - is a major health problem in the world today. 50 million Americans have it - that's about 1 in every 4 adults. In 1998, it was directly responsible for more than 44,000 deaths and it contributed to the deaths of another 210,000 Americans.
Hypertension is sometimes called "the silent killer" because it doesn't have any symptoms, yet it can be causing serious damage inside the body. It is a primary cause of stroke, heart disease, heart failure, kidney disease, and blindness. It triples a person's chance of developing heart disease, and boosts the chance of stroke seven times and the chance of congestive heart failure six times.
Because there aren't any symptoms, hypertension can only be detected by measuring blood pressure - in your doctor's office, at a Lifeclinic Health Station in pharmacies and other retail settings, or with a home blood pressure monitor. Click here to find the Health Station nearest you.
Fortunately, high blood pressure is usually controllable. Changes in eating and exercise habits can significantly lower blood pressure, and there are also many antihypertensive medications that work alone or in combination to keep blood pressure under control.
Nearly a third of people who have high blood pressure don't even know it - which is why it's a good idea to measure blood pressure on a regular basis. Of those people who have been diagnosed and are receiving treatment, only 40% are receiving the right treatment and have their blood pressure under control. A similar number are receiving inadequate treatment, and the rest are not receiving treatment at all.
It has been repeatedly shown in clinical trials that reducing blood pressure decreases deaths from stroke, coronary events, and heart failure; slows the progression of kidney disease; prevents progression to more severe hypertension; and reduces mortality overall.
2 comments:
give us remedies (clinical/medical) to control hypertension?
What is normal blood pressure, then?
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