Why are so many people walking around with HIGH blood pressure?
Research has shown that only about 50% of Americans diagnosed with hypertension have controlled blood pressure. We suspect that barriers such as lack of access to medical care and medication, medication cost, poor medication adherence, physician inertia, and other issues must be considered.
In the United States, there are 20.7% of adults with resistant hypertension. Of this group with resistant hypertension, between 6.2-8.4% of adults have failed hypertension treatment. These adults have refractory hypertension and are at higher risk of poor cardiovascular outcomes such as stroke, heart attack, etc.
People with resistant hypertension ARE MORE LIKELY OBESE, OLDER, AFRICAN AMERICAN, and HAVE CO-MORBITIES (DIABETES, CHRONIIC KIDNEY DISEASE, OR ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE).
Lifestyle Modification and Hypertension
Dr. Greger has a very important video below that I highly recommend for education, inspiration and motivation to take action on your blood pressure numbers.
Know your BP target goal. You just got to know so, ask your doctor if your target goal is 120/80 mm Hg, 135/85 mm Hg, 140/90 mm Hg, 150/90 mm Hg, or some other target goal.
The average person’s target goal is less than 130/80 at home and less than 140/90 in the doctor’s office. Nevertheless, the most recent literature supports a target goal of less than 120/80 mm Hg.
Get the most accurate blood pressure monitor at this link: Monitor your blood pressure at least once a week, keep a log, and share your diary with your health care provider. Report any moderate readings soon and report any severe measurements immediately to avoid these mistakes. Go to 30 days to a Better Blood Pressure for a step by step approach to obtaining normal blood pressure.Lifestyle Modification and Heart Disease
In the video below, Dr. Greger explains how to treat the underline cause of cardiovascular disease. I highly recommend this video for education, inspiration and motivation to take action to employ a health diet.
Make an appointment to see your health care provider if your blood pressure is not controlled. By the same token, enroll in my Hypertension Resistant To Treatment premium course for help.
But wait, I have done a few research studies at a large university that have shown that even about 30% of people without these barriers have uncontrolled blood pressure. Yet, unless you have refractory hypertension, you can reach your blood pressure target goal and maintain control of your blood pressure with five easy steps. Subscribe to get my 5 Easy Steps To Better Blood Pressure Control and to get new posts automatically.
What’s holding you back from getting control of your blood pressure? Tell me in the comment box below. Let me know if you need help!
References
Bhatt, H, Siddiqui, M., Oparil, S., & Calhoun, D. (2015). Prevalence of pseudo-resistant hypertension secondary to improper blood pressure measurement technique. Journal of the American Society of Hypertension 10(4):e20-e21
Calhoun, D., Jones, D., Textor, S., Goff, D., Murphy, T., Toto, R., et al. (2008). Resistant hypertension: diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Professional Education Committee of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research. Hypertension, 51(6), 1403-1419.
Greger, M. (2016). How not to die from high blood pressure. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lupPd8SsZnc
Greger, M. (2016). How not to die from heart disease. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXigmGZk5FU
Sim, J., Bhandari, S., Shi, J., Liu, L., Calhoun, D., & McGlynn, E. et al. (2013). Characteristics of resistant hypertension in a large ethnically diverse hypertension population of an integrated health system. Mayo Clinic Proc, 88(10), 1099-1107.
