Health Commish: High Blood Pressure Is Out Of Control For Too Many Americans

HARTFORD — Federal health officials released a report last week underscoring the nationwide concern and costly health problem of high blood pressure. Almost 67 million American adults have high blood pressure, and half of them do not have it under control. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke.

This month’s Vital Signs issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds the majority of people with uncontrolled high blood pressure are being treated with medicine, yet their condition is not under control. Millions more are either aware they have high blood pressure but are not getting treated with medicine or do not even know they have it.

“Improved control of high blood pressure is critical to reducing the burden of heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in Connecticut and the United States,” stated Department of Public Health Commissioner Jewel Mullen, MD. “Doctors, nurses, and others in the health care system should identify and treat high blood pressure at every visit, inform patients of their numbers and explain whether their blood pressure is in control.”

She said in addition to health care providers making blood pressure a priority, patients can lower their risk by taking blood pressure medications as prescribed, eating a healthy, low sodium diet, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking.

Key findings from the Vital Signs report include:

*Nearly one in three adults (67 million) has high blood pressure

*36 million have uncontrolled high blood pressure

*About 22 million know they have it, but do not have their blood pressure under control

*16 million take medicine, yet still do not have their blood pressure under control.

According to the report, team-based care is one successful approach to control high blood pressure. Pharmacists, nurses, dieticians, or community health workers can assist doctors in sharing the responsibility for identifying and treating patients with high blood pressure.

The Department of Public Health is working with providers and communities to address uncontrolled blood pressure and reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke among Connecticut’s residents through several initiatives:

*The Black Resident Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program addresses disparities in Connecticut’s black residents related to heart disease and stroke. This initiative provides cardiovascular screening and education programs in the Hartford, New London, Bridgeport, and New Haven areas about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke; when to call 911; high blood pressure prevention and control; high cholesterol prevention and control; and reducing other heart disease and stroke risk factors such as tobacco use, diabetes, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition.

*The Blood Pressure Measurement Specialist Training Program is a certification program that provides updates to health care professionals on current concepts in hypertension detection, evaluation, and treatment. The program offers information on accurately and reliably measuring blood pressure, properly maintaining and calibrating blood pressure equipment, and making recommendations for lifestyle changes that can be taken to reduce the incidence of high blood pressure.

*The Women’s Healthy Heart Program offers community-level programming to address the modifiable risk factors for heart disease and stroke, and to promote heart-healthy lifestyles for women in the Hartford area.

*The Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) Program provides low-income, underinsured, or uninsured women aged 40–64 years with cardiovascular risk factor screening and risk reduction services to prevent cardiovascular disease.

This program provides screening services that include height and weight measurement, BMI calculation, blood pressure measurement, medical and family history, assessments of physical activity and nutrition habits, and cholesterol and glucose blood tests. Women with abnormal test results are eligible for nutrition, physical activity, and smoking cessation counseling with a registered dietitian to help improve their heart health.

Last year, DPH was awarded $493,891 in federal Affordable Care Act funds to support community prevention efforts to reduce chronic disease and address health disparities. This initiative, known as the Community Transformation Grant, works to reduce the burden of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, by supporting prevention programs proven to have a positive impact on health.

High blood pressure is defined as blood pressure greater than or equal to 140/90 mm-Hg. People with high blood pressure are four times more likely to die from a stroke and three times more likely to die from heart disease.

To learn more about high blood pressure, visit www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure. Controlling high blood pressure is also a key component of Million Hearts, a national initiative to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. For more information, visit www.millionhearts.hhs.gov.

SIDEBAR

CDC: US Kids Eat Too Much Salt, As Much As Adults

CHICAGO (AP) — American children eat as much salt as adults — about 1,000 milligrams too much, or the same amount as in just one Big Mac. Extra salt is linked with higher blood pressure, even in kids, but government research says those who are overweight and obese may be most vulnerable to its effects.

The new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were published online September 17 in the journal Pediatrics. Previous research has shown similar results in adults but studies on salt, weight, and blood pressure are scarce in children.

The CDC researchers looked at data on 6,200 kids aged 8 to 18 involved in 2003–08 national health surveys. The children were asked twice over several days to detail all foods they had eaten the previous day; the researchers calculated salt intake from their answers.

Overall, 15 percent had either high blood pressure or slightly elevated blood pressure called prehypertension. Those who ate the most salt faced double the risk of having elevated blood pressure, compared with those who ate few salty foods. But among overweight or obese kids, the risk was more than triple.

The recommended daily salt or sodium intake for kids and adults is no more than 1 teaspoon daily, or about 2,300 milligrams. On average, study kids ate 3,300 milligrams daily.

CDC researcher Quanhe Yang says it is unclear why heavier kids would be more sensitive to salt but it could be due to obesity-related hormone changes. The results raise concerns because studies have shown that elevated blood pressure in childhood, even just prehypertension, can lead to full-fledged high blood pressure in adulthood and potentially premature heart disease.

Prehypertension and high blood pressure in children younger than 17 depend on age, height, and gender. In those 18 and up, readings between 120 over 80 and 140 over 90 are prehypertension; 140 over 90 and higher is high blood pressure.