Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, affecting nearly one in three Americans. It is prevalent in adults and endemic in the older adult population. Hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and disability. Although there is a simple test to diagnose hypertension and relatively inexpensive drugs to treat it, the disease is often undiagnosed and uncontrolled. A Population-Based Policy and Systems Change Approach to the Prevention and Control Hypertension identifies a small set of high-priority areas in which public health officials can focus their efforts to accelerate progress in hypertension reduction and control. It offers several recommendations that embody a population-based approach grounded in the principles of measurement, system change, and accountability. The recommendations are designed to shift current hypertension reduction strategies from an individual-based approach to a population-based approach. They are also designed to improve the quality of care provided to individuals with hypertension and to strengthen the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's leadership in seeking a reduction in the sodium intake in the American diet to meet dietary guidelines. The book is an important resource for federal public health officials and organizations, especially the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as medical professionals and community health workers.

Now completely revised and updated with more than 75 percent new material, this invaluable book presents a proven hypertension treatment plan based on nutrition, herbal and alternate therapies, and lifestyle changes.

Diabetes and hypertension have evolved as two of the modern day epidemics affecting millions of people around the world. These two common co-morbidities lead to substantial increase in cardiovascular disease, the major cause of morbidity and mortality of adults around the world. In Diabetes and Hypertension: Evaluation and Management, a panel of renowned experts address a range of critical topics -- from basic concepts in evaluation and management of diabetes and hypertension, such as dietary interventions, to evaluation and management of secondary hypertension in clinical practice. Other chapters focus on high cardiovascular risk populations such as those with coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease and minority patients. In addition, evolving concepts and new developments in the field are presented in other chapters, such as prevention of type 2 diabetes and the epidemic of sleep apnea and its implication for diabetes and hypertension evaluation and management. An important title covering two of the most troubling disorders of our time, Diabetes and Hypertension: Evaluation and Management will provide the busy practitioner with cutting edge knowledge in the field as well as practical information that can translate into better care provided to the high-risk population of diabetics and hypertensive patients.

This book by the National Institutes of Health (Publication 06-4082) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides information and effective ways to work with your diet because what you choose to eat affects your chances of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension (the medical term). Recent studies show that blood pressure can be lowered by following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan-and by eating less salt, also called sodium. While each step alone lowers blood pressure, the combination of the eating plan and a reduced sodium intake gives the biggest benefit and may help prevent the development of high blood pressure. This book, based on the DASH research findings, tells how to follow the DASH eating plan and reduce the amount of sodium you consume. It offers tips on how to start and stay on the eating plan, as well as a week of menus and some recipes. The menus and recipes are given for two levels of daily sodium consumption-2,300 and 1,500 milligrams per day. Twenty-three hundred milligrams is the highest level considered acceptable by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. It is also the highest amount recommended for healthy Americans by the 2005 "U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans." The 1,500 milligram level can lower blood pressure further and more recently is the amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine as an adequate intake level and one that most people should try to achieve. The lower your salt intake is, the lower your blood pressure. Studies have found that the DASH menus containing 2,300 milligrams of sodium can lower blood pressure and that an even lower level of sodium, 1,500 milligrams, can further reduce blood pressure. All the menus are lower in sodium than what adults in the United States currently eat-about 4,200 milligrams per day in men and 3,300 milligrams per day in women. Those with high blood pressure and prehypertension may benefit especially from following the DASH eating plan and reducing their sodium intake.

Hypertension remains a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Self-monitoring of blood pressure by patients at home is currently recommended as a valuable tool for the diagnosis and management of hypertension. Unfortunately, in clinical practice, home blood pressure monitoring is often inadequately implemented, mostly due to the use of inaccurate devices and inappropriate methodologies. Thus, the potential of the method to improve the management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease prevention has not yet been exhausted. This volume presents the available evidence on home blood pressure monitoring, discusses its strengths and limitations, and presents strategies for its optimal implementation in clinical practice. Written by distinguished international experts, it offers a complete source of information and guide for practitioners and researchers dealing with the management of hypertension.

How to play a vital role in your own health and longevity: A handbook from“one of the most reliable, respected health resources that Americans have” (Publishers Weekly). This easy-to-use guide will help you understand the many issues related to high blood pressure and assist you in preventing it, managing it, and making essential treatment decisions. · Learn which single factor you can do the most about when it comes to influencing your blood pressure. This one step may be all it takes to lower your blood pressure and keep it under control. · How losing as little as 10 pounds may reduce your blood pressure to a healthier level—includes practical help for maintaining a healthier weight. · Discover a great alternative that may lower your blood pressure just about as much as medications—without the expense of prescriptions. · Why your blood pressure goes down if you make your heart stronger—and dozens of tips to realize this goal. · How to manage your sodium intake. · Information about medications for when changes in lifestyle aren't enough and more

It is well known that cardiovascular events occur more frequently in the morning as blood pressure (BP) levels have been shown to increase during the period from night to early morning. In recent years, clinical research using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) or home BP monitoring has clarified that morning BP and BP surge are more closely related to the cardiovascular risk than clinical BP. This practical manual from field leading expert, Dr. Kazuomi Kario, reviews recent evidence on morning and nocturnal hypertension and the IT technologies physicians can use to support patients in home monitoring BP. Guidance on management via antihypertensive drugs is also discussed and with the aim of promoting perfect 24 hour BP control.

Many of the nearly 70 million Americans with hypertension (high blood pressure) would like to bring it under control through lifestyle changes such as losing weight, cutting back on salt, exercising, or reducing stress. But, like it or not, most will require medication to get their blood pressure where it needs to be. The good news is that we have many excellent blood pressure medications which, when prescribed wisely, can control hypertension in almost everyone. The bad news is that, despite good intentions, doctors are placing millions of people who have hypertension on medications, drug combinations, or doses that are wrong for them, with staggering consequences that include uncontrolled hypertension, higher risk for stroke and heart attack, avoidable side effects, and billions of wasted health care dollars. Here, Dr. Mann, a nationally recognized hypertension specialist, identifies the drugs most likely to have side effects, and those that can be used in their place. He describes the shortcomings of some of the new drugs, while also introducing readers to some excellent old drugs that are woefully underused as a result of the publicity blitz surrounding the new, expensive ones. He emphasizes the importance of matching the medication and dosage to the individual who will be taking them, and presents the overlooked clues that can tell us who should be on which drug (even an excellent drug can be the wrong one if it is given to the wrong person or in the wrong dose). Hypertension and You is directed at the more than 50 million Americans (including a majority of people over the age of 60) who are taking blood pressure medication. Many patients suspect they might be on the wrong medication, but don’t know enough to be sure. This book shows how medications can be prescribed more wisely to achieve better results and gives patients the knowledge they need to capably discuss their medications with their health care providers. Hypertension and You provides many ideas and approaches that will be new to readers, and also to many physicians, and which no other book offers. It’s the first book to make the case that something is terribly wrong with how doctors are prescribing drugs for this condition. It provides readers with better knowledge of the available medications, empowering them to work with their physician to get onto the medications that are right for them.

A shocking one in three American adults has high blood pressure, yet barely half of them have it under control. Millions more have high blood pressure and don't even know it because there are no warning signs or symptoms. It's called the silent killer because the first "symptom" is often a stroke or heart attack. Fortunately, high blood pressure is easy to detect and treat. Sometimes people can keep blood pressure in a healthy range simply by making lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, increasing activity, and eating more healthfully. In this Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School experts, you'll uncover the best ways to stop this silent killer, including: 5 ways to lower your chances of ever getting high blood pressure.