High Blood Pressure Facts
High Blood Pressure Facts – Knowing the facts about high blood pressure can save your life. Learn more about high blood pressure in this video.
Expert: Holly S. Andersen, MD Dir. of Education & Outreach; The Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute
Transcript
Knowing the facts about high blood pressure can save your life.
FACT ONE. High blood pressure usually has NO symptoms – it’s called the Silent Killer for a reason. That’s why only 20% of people with high blood pressure know they have it. It is also an extremely common health problem.
In FACT, more than 76 million American adults-about one out of every three– have high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is most common in men under age 45 and women 65 or older. It has also been found that African Americans develop high blood pressure more often, and at an earlier age, than whites and Hispanics. AND it’s more common in African American women than men.
It’s also a FACT that about 400,000 people a year in the U.S. DIE from complications of high blood pressure.
Now that we’ve got the facts sorted out, let’s weed through the fictions.
You may have heard: You CANNOT PREVENT high blood pressure if it runs in your family. But that’s just not true.
Lifestyle adjustments such as reducing salt intake, eating more fruits and vegetables,getting regular exercise, losing weight, quitting smoking and cutting down on drinking can make an ENORMOUS difference.
Another common fiction: High cholesterol will always lead to high blood pressure. In reality, one doesn’t always lead to the other, but they DO share risk factors.
Fiction number three: High blood pressure medications can CURE the condition. More than two-thirds of Americans diagnosed with high blood pressure use medication to effectively treat and MANAGE the condition. However, if they were to suddenly stop taking medication, their blood pressure would most likely rise and complications could result. Medications can help MANAGE, but not CURE, high blood pressure.
You should make a point to discuss your blood pressure numbers and any risk factors you may have including family history, diet or daily stressors with your doctor. For more information on living with high blood pressure, check out other videos on this site.
Last Modified: 2013-06-13
Category: Health and Nutrition, Videos
