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46% of Americans Now Have High Blood Pressure (nbcnews.com)
"Millions more Americans will now be diagnosed with high blood pressure," reports NBC News, which describes the condition as "one of the leading killers around the world."
Anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 will be considered to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology said in releasing their new joint guidelines. "It's very clear that lower is better," said Dr. Paul Whelton of Tulane University, who chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines... 130/80 to 139/89 is now considered Stage 1 hypertension and anything 140/90 or above will be considered stage 2 hypertension...
"Rather than one in three U.S. adults having high blood pressure (32 percent) with the previous definition, the new guidelines will result in nearly half of the U.S. adult population (46 percent) having high blood pressure, or hypertension," the groups said in a joint statement... While people may be confused by the change, the heart experts said three years of reviewing the research showed that many fewer people die if high blood pressure is treated earlier. "We are comfortable with the recommendations. They are based on strong evidence," Whelton said.
Slashdot reader 140Mandak262Jamuna blames the pharmaceutical lobby, arguing that "a few years down the line, we all will be taking blood pressure medications," though Dr. Robert Carey of the University of Virginia, who helped write the guidelines, claims there will only be a 1.9% increase.
The new guidelines recommend that everyone watch their diet and exercise, and that people with stage 1 hypertension should also first try eating less salt, more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains before taking blood pressure medications.
"Rather than one in three U.S. adults having high blood pressure (32 percent) with the previous definition, the new guidelines will result in nearly half of the U.S. adult population (46 percent) having high blood pressure, or hypertension," the groups said in a joint statement... While people may be confused by the change, the heart experts said three years of reviewing the research showed that many fewer people die if high blood pressure is treated earlier. "We are comfortable with the recommendations. They are based on strong evidence," Whelton said.
Slashdot reader 140Mandak262Jamuna blames the pharmaceutical lobby, arguing that "a few years down the line, we all will be taking blood pressure medications," though Dr. Robert Carey of the University of Virginia, who helped write the guidelines, claims there will only be a 1.9% increase.
The new guidelines recommend that everyone watch their diet and exercise, and that people with stage 1 hypertension should also first try eating less salt, more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains before taking blood pressure medications.
Millions more will be diagnosed now that the numbers have been adjusted to sell more prescriptions.
"Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
If you're in the USA better to skip the whole grains altogether except as occassional treat, monsanto and company's franken-wheat causes many digestive disorders and elevated blood sugar levels.
That's complete bullshit. There's zero science behind that.
I don't respond to AC's.
At age 25, I was 6' 3", 160 lbs, and exercised. I had high blood pressure and the doc wanted to put me on medication. I thought I was too young for high blood pressure medication. I instead started eating salads instead of sandwiches, quit eating deli meat, and avoid processed and high sodium foods. I'm now 35, still 160 lbs, and my blood pressure is well within a normal range. You don't need pills. Eat healthy instead.
If you don't want to get sick don't go to the doctor. Works for me!
love is just extroverted narcissism
>That's complete bullshit. There's zero science behind that.
Indeed. You don't need frankenwheat to elevate your blood sugar. Regular wheat will do.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but Big Pharma isn't getting rich on this one.
I've been taking Lisinopril for high blood pressure for a couple years now and a 90 day supply (1 x 20 mg tablet) costs me $3.00 with insurance. Without insurance it is about 3x-4x higher, from what I've seen.
At 1/3 of a penny per dose, *my cost*, that isn't exactly high profit margin. U.S. Patents expired in 2002, meaning right now it is one of the cheapest medications available. Over the counter aspirin costs more.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.