HHS HealthBeat (September 22, 2010)

Better blood pressure control

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Americans are getting better at controlling high blood pressure, although we still have a way to go. At the Medical University of South Carolina, Brent Egan reviewed national survey data.

"Blood pressure control between 1988 and 1999-2000 improved by about 4 percent; but the improvement from 2000 to 2008 was about 18 percent, or about four times as much." (12 seconds)

Egan says about 1 out of every 2 people with high blood pressure has it under control. He notes that means about 1 of 2 does not, though.

High blood pressure has no symptoms, so you need to get a blood pressure check to know. You can do that at supermarkets and drug stores – as well as your doctor’s.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011