Hypertension
Theresa M. Brennan, M.D.
As with all disease, prevention is the most effective way to deal with a disorder. We need to stress that calories do count and that maintaining a healthy weight is important. People need to eat right and move more, so that they burn the calories they eat. And they need to try to reduce salt intake.
We also have to encourage people to get their blood pressure checked and to get treatment, if needed. Hypertension is often called "the silent killer" because people frequently don’t have any symptoms, which can allow the damage to progress until a major event such as a heart attack or stroke occurs. Diagnosing hypertension early and appropriate treatment can prevent many of the complications of the condition.
Our comprehensive heart risk assessment puts you in the hands of a trained cardiac physiologist, who can alert you to your risks and help you chart a course of change in diet and lifestyle.
High blood pressure is defined for most people as having a systolic (top) number of 140 mm Hg or higher and/or a diastolic (bottom) number of 90 mm Hg or higher. People who are age 45 or older, non-Hispanic black females, non-Hispanic white males, or Mexican Americans are the most likely to have hypertension. They are also likely to not know they have the disorder, and only about one-third of them adequately control the condition with medication.
In addition, an estimated 50 million Americans now have a condition called pre-hypertension. People in this category have blood pressures of 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury systolic (top number) or 80 to 90 diastolic (bottom number), according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. They are considered to have a high risk of developing "full" hypertension.
It is clear that we have to enhance our efforts to make people more aware that high blood pressure continues to be a major public health threat. Fortunately, we have other successful models that have helped people better understand hazards to their health, such as smoking and consumption of high levels of fat in the diet.