High blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) caused the deaths of 42,565 Americans in 1997, and was a contributing factor in over 200,000 others. The fact is that 1 in 4 adult Americans have high blood pressure, although 31.6% of them don't know they have hypertension. These statistics are truly alarming when you consider that high blood pressure is easy to diagnose and treat -- it's one of the most preventable causes of death in the U.S. today.

Many people falsely assume that men are the most at risk for cardiovascular diseases, however more women than men have died of cardiovascular diseases every year since 1984. Untreated high blood pressure can cause kidney damage, and raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. The cause of 3 out of 5 cases of heart failure in women is high blood pressure.

Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of American women, claiming more than 500,000 women's lives each year. This means 16 times as many women die of cardiovascular diseases each year than the next 16 causes of death combined! Early detection and treatment of high blood pressure could prevent many of these deaths.

Who's at Risk?

High blood pressure can happen to anyone at any age. It is often difficult to pinpoint a cause for high blood pressure, since several factors and conditions often play a role in its development.

Race and even geographic location appear statistically significant in some cases -- African-American women who live in the Southeast are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who live elsewhere. Overall, African-Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure at an earlier age and more severely than whites.