Hypertension: The Silent Killer

In the United States and most other societies, blood pressure and the prevalence of high blood pressure rise progressively with increasing age. High blood pressure is among the most common and most important of the risk factors for cardiovascular-renal disease. To date, blood pressure-related risk reduction efforts have almost uniformly revolved around the paradigm of hypertension detection and treatment. Despite the clear benefits of treating established hypertension, this approach alone will not prevent all of the blood pressure- related cardiovascular-renal disease in the community. Blood pressure-related vascular complications can occur prior to the onset of established hypertension because the blood pressure- cardiovascular disease risk relationship is continuous and progressive, even within the normotensive blood pressure range.

Is high blood pressure really a big deal?

YES! When your blood pressure is high, your heart has to work harder than it should to pump blood to all parts of the body. High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because most people feel healthy and don’t even know that they have it. If it is not treated, high blood pressure can cause:
stroke
heart attack
kidney problems
eye problems
death

Primary prevention of hypertension is a natural extension of hypertension treatment. It provides an attractive opportunity to interrupt and prevent the continuing costly cycle of managing hypertension and its complications. Primary prevention of hypertension can be accomplished through interventions with the general population (population strategy) with the objective of achieving a downward shift in the distribution of blood pressure. (Information provided by BlackHealthCare.com)