World Hypertension Day highlights risk of ‘silent killer'

The World Hypertension League, a federation of international organizations that includes the American Heart Association’s Council for High Blood Pressure Research, created World Hypertension Day to promote hypertension prevention and control, according to an article published in the April 9 issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. High blood pressure underlies, or goes hand-in-hand with, many disease processes including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, overweight/obesity and diabetes, among others. In the United States, about 72 million people age 20 and older have high blood pressure. Of those with high blood pressure, nearly 30 percent don’t know they have it, and 65 percent don’t have it under control, according to the American Heart Association. For more information on this observance or the latest research findings and consumer health information, call the American Heart Association at 1-800-AHA-USAl or visit the Web at www.americanheart.org.