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Prevalence of Hypertension and Controlled Hypertension — United States, 2007–2010

	Supplement Volume 62, Supplement, No. 3 November 22, 2013 PDF of this issue

Prevalence of Hypertension and Controlled Hypertension — United States, 2007–2010

Supplements

November 22, 2013 / 62(03);144-148

Cathleen D. Gillespie, MS1

Kimberly A. Hurvitz, MHS2

1National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC

2National Center for Health Statistics, CDC

Corresponding author: Cathleen D. Gillespie, MS, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC. Telephone: 770-488-5855; E-mail: ckg2@cdc.gov.

Introduction

Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. As the first and fourth leading causes of death in the United States, heart disease and stroke occur in approximately 30% of adults aged ≥18 years in the United States (1). Disparities in the prevalence of hypertension among racial/ethnic groups have persisted at least since 1960, with the prevalence remaining highest among non-Hispanic black adults (1–4). Blood pressure control among those with hypertension can reduce the risk of subsequent cardiovascular diseases (5). Among adults with hypertension, Mexican-American persons born outside the United States, and persons without health insurance had lower rates of blood pressure control in 2005–2008 (3). Not only do non-Hispanic black adults have higher rates of hypertension, but among those with hypertension they also have lower rates of blood pressure control than non-Hispanic white adults (2,3).
Healthy People 2020 includes objectives to reduce the prevalence of hypertension among adults to 26.9% (objective HDS-5.1) and to increase the prevalence of blood pressure control among adults with hypertension to 61.2% (objective HDS-12) (6). Further, in 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the Million Hearts initiative, which is intended to bring together communities, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners from across the country to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the course of 5 years (available at http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/index.html). Blood pressure control is a part of the initiative in the prevention of these adverse events. Therefore, hypertension prevalence and blood pressure control among those with hypertension are important indicators to monitor over time to identify improvements or persistent challenges in vulnerable segments of the U.S. population.
This analysis of hypertension and the discussion that follows are part of the second CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report (2013 CHDIR) (3).The 2011 CHDIR was the first CDC report to assess disparities across a wide range of diseases, behavioral risk factors, environmental exposures, social determinants, and health-care access. The topic presented in this report is based on criteria that are described in the 2013 CHDIR Introduction (7). This report provides more current information on the prevalence of hypertension and blood pressure control among adults aged ≥18 years. The purposes of this report on hypertension and controlled hypertension are to discuss and raise awareness of differences in the characteristics of persons with hypertension and controlled hypertension, and to prompt actions to reduce disparities.