Hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, is defined by the 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guideline as systolic blood pressure (SBP) at least 130mmHg or diastolicBP(DBP) at least80mmHg, or reported treatment with antihypertensive medication.1,2 The prevalence of hypertension in US adults is approximately 44%to 49%.3,4 Based on self-reported data from a survey of hypertension prevalence in 533 306 adults, it was estimated that eliminating hypertension in women would reduce population mortality by approximately 7.3% compared with 0.1%for hyperlipidemia, 4.1%for diabetes,4.4%for cigarette smoking, and 1.7%for obesity.5 Eliminating hypertension in men would reduce population mortality by approximately 3.8% compared with 2.0%for hyperlipidemia, 1.7%for diabetes, 5.1%for cigarette smoking, and 2.6%for obesity.5
Click to read the article by RobertM. Carey, MD; Andrew E. Moran, MD; Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MSc
