High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet

Percentage of adults aged ≥20 who were ever told they had high blood pressure, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1999

Source: CDC. MMWR-- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, 2002;51(21).

Facts on High Blood Pressure

• High blood pressure (hypertension) killed 42,997 Americans in 1999 and contributed to the deaths of another 227,000. Because the consequences associated with high blood pressure are so serious, early detection, treatment, and control are important.
• High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, both leading causes of death in the United States. About 1 in 4 American adults have high blood pressure. High blood pressure affects about 1 in 3 African Americans, 1 in 5 Hispanics and Native Americans, and 1 in 6 Asians/ Pacific Islanders.
• What do blood pressure numbers indicate? Blood pressure is often written as two numbers. The top (systolic) number represents the pressure while the heart is beating. The bottom (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats.
• High blood pressure for adults is defined as a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or higher, or a diastolic pressure of 90 mmHg or higher.  
• Optimal adult blood pressure is 120/80 or lower.  
• Among people with high blood pressure, 31.6% don't even know they have it.  
• High blood pressure is easily detectable and usually controllable with lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activity or reducing dietary salt intake, with or without medications.
• The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) recommends that adults have their blood pressure checked at least every 2 years.

Statistics from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics as published by the American Heart Association, Heart and Stroke Statistical Update, 2002. Dallas, TX: AHA, 2001. http://www.americanheart.org/.*

CDC's Public Health Efforts

CDC currently funds health departments in 29 states and the District of Columbia to develop effective strategies to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases and related risk factors with an overarching emphasis on heart healthy policies and physical and social environmental changes. Through these state programs, CDC aims to reduce disparities in treatment, risk factors, and disease; delay the onset of disease; postpone death from cardiovascular disease; and reduce disabling conditions. For more information on CDC's Cardiovascular Health State Program, please visit our Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/cvh/stateprogram.htm

For More Information

For more information about high blood pressure, visit the Web sites of the following CDC partners:

• American Heart Association
  http://americanheart.org/ *
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
• The Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI)
  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/jncintro.htm

This page last reviewed November 07, 2002.
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Division of Adult and Community Health