Millions of Americans are living with hypertension -- a ticking time bomb. From the age of 50 and onward, Americans have a 90 percent chance of developing hypertension. That is a startling risk for a condition that strongly predisposes to heart disease and stroke. What is most worrisome is that the prevalence of hypertension remains high, particularly among African-Americans, despite efforts to educate Americans about the importance of healthy eating, physical activity and smoke-free environments. This Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Hypertension now reinforces the need for a broad-based initiative in the science and public health spectrums to help individuals manage hypertension and perhaps even prevent the onset of hypertension.

Hypertension is the most common primary diagnosis in America, affecting over 60 million people. More than two-thirds of hypertensive individuals need drug therapy yet many are unable to afford the high cost of medication and treatment. We support the IOM's recommendations to make drug therapy more affordable for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries and boost funding for prevention programs that provide smoking cessation counseling and screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol for underserved populations. Currently, funding for prevention programs remains woefully inadequate, limiting access for at-risk individuals in many communities.

As part of the American Heart Association's 2020 impact goals, to reduce cardiovascular disease deaths by 20 percent and improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans, we're urging consumers to reduce their risk for hypertension through behavior change and dietary modifications. The association agrees with the IOM's recommendation of limiting daily consumption of sodium by preparing foods with little or no salt and increasing the amount of foods rich in potassium to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. We're working with government agencies to identify novel strategies to reduce the amount of sodium in the food supply. We're also working with industry leaders throughout the food supply because more than three-quarters of consumed sodium comes from processed foods and a meaningful strategy to reduce intake must involve the efforts of food suppliers and manufacturers and restaurants. For a sustained impact, states and local communities must also increase surveillance to collect data on awareness, detection, treatment and prevention of hypertension and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke and develop mechanisms to share data within healthcare systems.

We urge elected officials to make a strong commitment to combat hypertension through legislative measures that will increase access to prevention programs, expand surveillance and reinforce scientific guidelines for healthy eating, regular physical activity and tobacco control.

Source
American Heart Association