Statistics

• As many as 65 million Americans age 6 and older have high blood pressure.
• Nearly one in three US adults has high blood pressure.
• More than 40 percent of African Americans have high blood pressure.
• Thirty percent of people with high blood pressure don’t know they have it.
• The cause of 90–95 percent of the cases of high blood pressure isn’t known; however, high blood pressure is easily detected and usually controllable.

Risk Factors

• While the causes for most cases of high blood pressure are not known, several factors may contribute to it.
• Heredity—people whose parents have high blood pressure are more likely to develop it than those whose parents don’t.
• Race—African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure than Caucasians.
• Sex—Men have a greater risk of high blood pressure than women until age 55, when their respective risks are similar. After 55, women are more likely to develop high blood pressure than men.
• Age—Blood pressure tends to increase with age, and older people are more likely to have high blood pressure.
• Sodium (salt) sensitivity
• Obesity and overweight

Other related factors that contribute to high blood pressure are: a sedentary or inactive lifestyle; heavy alcohol consumption; diabetes mellitus, gout and kidney disease; pregnancy; and the use of some oral contraceptives or other medications.

Some medications can raise blood pressure or interfere with the effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs. If you have high blood pressure, be sure to tell your doctor ALL of the prescribed and over-the-counter medicines you’re taking, including: steroids; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen; nasal decongestants and other cold remedies; diet pills and oral contraceptives.