Contents
Hypertension concept:
Background and overview
Hypertension is a major independent
risk factor for cardiovascular diseases
including all age, race and gender groups.
Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood
pressure (SBP) of ≥140 mm Hg or a diastolic
blood pressure (DBP) of ≥90 mm Hg and/
or the current use of antihypertensive
medication.
Approximately 65 million adult American
adults have hypertension, and its prevalence
has been found to be about 30-45% of the
general population in Western Europe.
Lifestyle factors are recognized as major
modifiable determinants of hypertension.
Recent guidelines emphasize, in addition
to medical treatment, the assessment of
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