Nearly 5 in 10 American adults have hypertension, data from a two-year-long survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was conducted between August 2021 and August 2023 to learn about the health and nutritional status among U.S. adults. The complex, multistage research found that 47.7% of those aged 18 and above have hypertension. Moreover, 71.6% of adults 60 and older suffer from the condition.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious but treatable condition. It happens when pressure in the blood vessels is too high (140/90 mmHg or higher), the World Health Organization explained. It can be fatal if left untreated. Some consider it "the silent killer."
According to the findings, about 59.2% of U.S. adults are unaware they have hypertension.
The prevalence of the condition correlated with age--23.4% of adults 18 to 39 years old had hypertension; 52.5% of ages 40–59; and 71.6% of those 60 and older reported to have it.
Hypertension awareness was also lower among men (55.2%) than women (63.6%), and had lower percentages in those receiving treatment for it--men 46.7%, women 56.1%.
Interestingly, the condition was more prevalent in males than females in the first two age brackets. A non-significant difference was observed in the highest age level.
Uncontrolled hypertension may damage the walls of the blood vessels which could lead to other complications, including stroke and heart attack.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. About one person dies of a cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds, according to the CDC. Every 40 seconds, one person suffers a heart attack. About 1 in 5 have unknowingly suffered a heart attack.
Comments