arthritis pain Cholesterol     arthritis pain Heart Disease     arthritis pain High Blood Pressure     arthritis pain Hypertension

arthritis pain Men Heart Disease     arthritis pain Women Heart Disease     arthritis pain HOME

Cure Heart Disease

High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet

Age-adjusted percent of adults ages 20 and older who have been told they have high blood pressure, by state, 2011. 25.2-27.9: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin; 28.0-29.1: California, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming; 29.2-31.0: Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington; 31.1-32.9: Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas; 33.0-36.9: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

High Blood Pressure Facts

  • Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, leading causes of death in the United States.
  • High blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of death for 348,000 Americans in 2008, or nearly 1,000 deaths a day.
  • 67 million American adults (31%) have high blood pressure—that’s 1 in every 3 American adults.
  • 36 million American adults with high blood pressure don’t have it under control.
  • About 30 percent of American adults have pre hypertension—blood pressure measurements that are higher than normal, but not yet in the high blood pressure range. Having prehypertension raises your risk of developing high blood pressure.
  • High blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, so many people don't realize they have it.
  • Reducing average population sodium intake from 3,300 mg to 2,300 mg per day may save 18 billion health care dollars and reduce cases of high blood pressure by 11 million annually.
  • High blood pressure costs the nation $47.5 billion annually in direct medical expenses and $3.5 billion each year in lost productivity.

Blood pressure is written as two numbers. The first (systolic) number represents the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart beats. The second (diastolic) number represents the pressure in your vessels when your heart rests between beats.

Blood Pressure Levels

Normal

systolic: less than 120 mmHg
diastolic: less than 80mmHg

At risk (prehypertension)

systolic: 120–139 mmHg
diastolic: 80–89 mmHg

High

systolic: 140 mmHg or higher
diastolic: 90 mmHg or higher

CDC's Public Health Efforts

Million Hearts™
Million Hearts™ is a national, public-private initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Co-led by CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the initiative brings together communities, health care professionals, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners to improve care and empower Americans to make heart-healthy choices.

CDC's National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program
Since 1998, CDC has funded state health departments' efforts to reduce the number of people with heart disease or stroke. Health departments in 41 states and the District of Columbia currently receive funding. The program stresses policy and education to promote heart-healthy and stroke-free living and working conditions.

WISEWOMAN
CDC funds 21 WISEWOMAN projects in 19 states and two tribal organizations. WISEWOMAN helps women with little or no health insurance reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. The program assists women age 40 to 64 in improving their diet, physical activity, and other behaviors. WISEWOMAN also provides blood pressure tests and other screening.


home page