Who Is At Risk for High Blood Pressure?

In the United States, about 72 million people have high blood pressure (HBP). This is about 1 in 3 adults.

Certain traits, conditions, or habits are known to raise the risk for HBP. These conditions are called risk factors. This section describes the major risk factors for HBP.

Older Age

Blood pressure tends to rise with age. If you're a male older than 45 or a female older than 55, your risk for HBP is higher. Over half of all Americans aged 60 and older have HBP.

Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is the most common form of HBP in older adults. ISH occurs when only systolic blood pressure (the top number) is high. About 2 out of 3 people over age 60 who have HBP have ISH.

HBP doesn't have to be a routine part of aging. You can take steps to keep your blood pressure at a normal level. (For more information, see "How Is High Blood Pressure Treated?")

Race/Ethnicity

HBP can affect anyone. However, it occurs more often in African American adults than in Caucasian or Hispanic American adults. In relation to these groups, African Americans:

• Tend to get HBP earlier in life
• Often have more severe HBP
• Are more likely to be aware that they have HBP and to get treatment
• Are less likely than Caucasians and about as likely as Hispanic Americans to achieve target control levels with HBP treatment
• Have higher rates than Caucasians of premature death from HBP-related complications, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure

HBP risks vary among different groups of Hispanic American adults. For instance, Puerto Rican American adults have higher rates of HBP-related death than all other Hispanic groups and Caucasians. But, Cuban Americans have lower rates than Caucasians.

Overweight or Obesity

You're more likely to develop prehypertension or HBP if you're overweight or obese. Overweight is having extra body weight from muscle, bone, fat, and/or water. Obesity is having a high amount of extra body fat.

Gender

Fewer adult women than men have HBP. But, younger women (aged 18–59) are more likely than men to be aware of and get treatment for HBP.

Women aged 60 and older are as likely as men to be aware of and treated for HBP. However, among treated women aged 60 and older, blood pressure control is lower than it is in men in the same age group.

Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits

A number of lifestyle habits can raise your risk for HBP, including:

• Eating too much sodium (salt)
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Not getting enough potassium in your diet
• Not doing enough physical activity
• Smoking

Other Risk Factors

A family history of HBP raises your risk for the condition. Long-lasting stress also can put you at risk for HBP.

You're also more likely to develop HBP if you have prehypertension. Prehypertension means that your blood pressure is in the 120–139/80–89 mmHg range.

Risk Factors for Children and Teens

Overweight is on the rise in youth younger than 18 years. As a result, prehypertension and HBP also are becoming more common in this age group.

African American and Mexican American youth are more likely to have HBP and prehypertension than Caucasian youth. Also, boys are at higher risk for HBP than girls.

Like adults, children and teens need to have routine blood pressure checks. This is even more important if a young person is overweight.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_WhoIsAtRisk.html