Implications of High Blood Pressure Underestimated

In “A Population-Based Policy and Systems Change Approach to Prevent and Control Hypertension ,”  the Institute of Medicine (IOM; Washington, DC USA) urges for public health officials and health care providers to increase their efforts to reduce Americans’ increasing rates of high blood pressure and better treat those with the condition, which is responsible for more than one-third of heart attacks and almost half of heart failures in the United States each year.  The committee’s review points to heavy weight, inactivity, and unhealthy diets containing too much salt and too little potassium as the major risk factors for high blood pressure.  As all these factors may be prevented through behavioral changes, the committee urges positive lifestyle changes to avert becoming accustomed to poor diet and inactivity. Based on available data, the committee estimated that hypertension prevalence might be reduced by as much as 22% if Americans consumed less salt in their diet and ate more vegetables, fruit, and lean protein.  A recent study calculated that reducing salt intake from 3,400 milligrams to the currently advised maximum intake level of 2,300 milligrams per day could bring down the number of individuals with high blood pressure by about 11.1 million and result in approximately $17.8 billion in health care cost savings annually.  The committee also estimated that an initiative to help overweight and obese Americans each lose 10 pounds could reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure in the overall population by 7 to 8%.  An exercise program that gets physically inactive people more active could decrease prevalence by 4 to 6%.