|
The vast majority of US adults
have been recently screened for high blood pressure. The bad news is that
an increasing number are being diagnosed with the condition.
High blood pressure is a major
contributor to heart disease and stroke -- two leading causes of death
among Americans. Because high blood pressure is both preventable and treatable,
US public health recommendations state that adults age 20 and older should
have their blood pressure checked at least once every 2 years.
And most Americans appear to
be doing just that, according to new data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
National survey results show
that, throughout the 1990s, about 95% of adults had recently undergone
blood pressure screening. And nearly all respondents said they had had
their blood pressure checked at some time.
But
while blood pressure screening remained steady during the 1990s, high
blood pressure diagnoses increased.
In 1991, about 23% of adults said they
had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, compared with 25% in 1999.
The ever-increasing prevalence
of obese and overweight Americans could mean that more people are actually
developing high blood pressure.
Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report May 31, 2002;51:456-460
| 