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Risks for High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is very common. More than 50 million American adults  (1 in 4)  have high blood pressure.

Some factors associated with an unfavorable outcome in hypertension are:

• Black racial background

• Youth

• Male

• Persistent diastolic blood pressure (i.e. pressure between the pulses, when the heart is relaxed) of greater than 115 mm Hg.

• Smoking

• Diabetes mellitus

• Elevated blood cholesterol levels

• Obesity

• Evidence of end-organ damage, e.g. cardiac enlargement, ECG abnormalities and congestive heart failure

Your risk of developing high blood pressure is high if you are an African American. Studies have found that African Americans may get it earlier in life and more often than white Americans.

Your risk of getting high blood pressure increases as you grow older. For example, about 60% of all Americans age 60 and older have high blood pressure. (The average percentage in all age groups is 25%)

Other risk factors are: overweight, genetics (those with a family history of high blood pressure have a better chance of contracting hypertension.), high-normal blood pressure (130-139/85-89 mm Hg), high intake of salt and highly stressed lifestyle and poor diet habits.