ABOUT ONE_THIRD OF US ADULTS HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

MyHealthNewsDaily (4/4, Rowan) reports, "One-third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, but the rate varies widely from state to state, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)." The report indicates that "the state with the highest percentage of adults who said they have high blood pressure is Mississippi, with 35.9 percent," while "Minnesota has the lowest rate, with 20.9 percent of respondents saying they had high blood pressure."

HealthDay (4/5, Reinberg) reports, "Wide variations existed by state in terms of how many people take medication to lower their blood pressure, according the report." For example, "nearly three-fourths of Tennessee respondents said they were taking blood pressure medication, compared with about half of those from California." Additionally, "hypertension was significantly higher among seniors, men, blacks and those with less than a high school education compared to younger people, women, Asians and people with higher levels of education, the researchers found."

MedPage Today (4/5, Smith) reports, "Nearly all states saw increases in self-reported hypertension from 2005 through 2009, with percentage-point increases ranging from 0.2 for Virginia to 7.0 for Kentucky." MedPage Today adds that "the exceptions, the CDC analysts found, were California, the District of Columbia, and Minnesota, where prevalence fell 0.4, 1.5, and 0.9 percentage points respectively."

Heartwire (4/5, O'Riordan) reports, "Overall, there were significant increases in the use of antihypertensives in California, Iowa, and Michigan, while use in Kentucky, a state that showed significant absolute and relative increases in the prevalence of hypertension, declined from 73.4% in 2005 to 65.7% in 2009." The findings were published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

POSTED BY:  Steven Almany M.D.