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Hypertension named 'public health enemy No. 2'

Hypertension named 'public health enemy No. 2'

In many cases, high blood pressure has no symptoms, which could be why more than half of the 67 million Americans who have hypertension are doing little or nothing to control it.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden has labeled high blood pressure "public health enemy No. 2." It's right behind tobacco.

High blood pressure is defined as a reading greater or equal to 140/90. Normal blood pressure is 120/80.
Moderately high blood pressure is 120 to 139 over 80 to 89.

In hypertension, blood flows through your arteries with too much force. It stretches arteries past their healthy limit, causing microscopic tears, says the American Heart Association.

Scar tissue that forms to repair the tears traps plaque and white blood cells, which can lead to blockages, clots and hardened or weakened arteries, according to the AHA.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, the first and fourth leading causes of death in the United States. It causes more than 1,000 deaths every day.

About 36 million people have uncontrolled high blood pressure; 26 million have seen a doctor for it, but 22 million still don't have it under control.

Many of these patients take medicine for hypertension, but it may be that their treatment plan isn't right, or maybe they aren't taking their pills faithfully.

Medicine for high blood pressure works for nearly all patients.

Millions of Americans have high blood pressure but don't know it.

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