Nearly half of Americans are suffering from a deadly medical condition that puts them at risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia.
A new CDC report found 47.7 percent of adults 18 and older had hypertension, or high blood pressure, between 2020 and 2023, which is about the same as the prevalence in the CDC’s report from 2017-2020.
Additionally, around four in 10 of adults don’t even know they have the condition, the CDC said, meaning they are not receiving treatment and are therefore at much higher risk of deadly complications.
High blood pressure is a primary or contributing factor in more than 685,000 deaths each year in the US alone.
The findings mean the government is on track to fail in its goal to bring hypertension prevalence down to 41 percent by 2030.
Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). A healthy blood pressure for most adults is 90 to 120/60 to 80 mm Hg (stock image)
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Women experienced a large increase – jumping from 40 percent in the previous report to 45 percent in this year’s.
People 18 to 39 years old had a prevalence of 23 percent. Prevalence was about 53 percent in people 40 to 59 years old and it was 72 percent in Americans 60 and older.
While prevalence slightly decreased in the older age groups, younger age groups saw a slight rise.
This slight increase could be a contributing factor to the rise in strokes and cardiac events among young people.
Strokes in Americans under 45 have risen nearly 15 percent since 2011, according to a separate report from the CDC. The agency partly attributed the rise to an increase in high blood pressure, but also to an increase in nationwide obesity and drug addiction.
The Cleveland Clinic lists recreational drug use, an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle a risk factors for hypertension.
However, healthy and active people are not immune to hypertension.
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The newest CDC report found, among people with hypertension, 59 percent were aware they had the condition and about half were taking medication to lower their blood pressure.
However, this varied widely across age groups. Just 27 percent of 18- to 39-year-olds were aware they were suffering from hypertension, compared to the 74 percent of people 60 and older who were aware of their condition.
Because of this, treatment also varied. Just 14 percent of younger people were treating their hypertension compared to 69 percent of seniors.
Despite the level of treatment, however, just 21 percent of all people had their blood pressure controlled to a healthy level.
The above graph shows the change in hypertension prevalence among all American adults, as well as among men and women from 1999 to 2023
The above map shows hypertension prevalence in counties across the US
There was no significant change in the percent of people who were aware of, in treatment for or in control of their hypertension observed from the 2017-2021 survey and 2021-2023 survey.
Typically, hypertension does not cause symptoms, which is why doctors call it a ‘silent killer,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic, but when blood pressure is higher than 180/120 mmHg, a person may experience headaches, heart palpitations and nosebleeds.
A blood pressure of this level is considered a ‘hypertensive crisis’ and requires immediate medical care.
According to the CDC, high blood pressure was the primary contributor to approximately 685,900 deaths in the US in 2022.
Over time, high blood pressure can weaken the heart and blood vessels, which can cause cardiovascular disease, including sudden cardiac arrest, and increase risk for stroke and dementia.
To treat hypertension, doctors will recommend lifestyle changes, such as reaching and remaining at a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, reducing salt intake, limiting alcohol, exercising and making sure to consume enough potassium, a mineral and electrolyte involved in important body processes.
