High Blood Pressure ' The Risk Factors

There has been a 30% increase in cases of high blood pressure, medically referred to as hypertension in the last decade alone. It now affects over 65 million Americans. Because many people are not aware that they even have this condition it is termed the “silent killer”. While we know that some diseases such as diabetes are linked to high blood pressure the truth is that in 90-95% of all cases the exact cause is unknown. What we do know is that there are certain risk factors that can increase the likelihood of someone developing hypertension in the future.

GENDER AND AGE

Age is one of the major risk factors of high blood pressure. This is true for both men and women. As we age our blood pressure will increase. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of people over theage of 60 have hypertension. Women in this age group seem to have a higher rate of hypertension than men and also have a higher mortality rate from it. Unfortunately this disease is also becoming more common in children and teenagers.

ETHNICITY

African Americans are more at risk than Caucasians. African Americans have 1.8 times the rate of fatal stroke, 1.5 times the rate of fatal heart disease and 4.2 times the rate of end-stage kidney disease. It is estimated that 34% of African American men and women suffer from hypertension and that it accounts for 40% of deaths in this group.

The rate of high blood pressure among African Americans is the highest in the world. The rate among Caucasians, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans is consistent at 24% to 27%. The rate among Asians however is the lowest. In this group only 9.7% of men and 8.4% of women have hypertension. However over 75% of all older Japanese American men have the condition.

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