Approximately 68 million American adults have high blood pressure and 71 million have high cholesterol, and the conditions are uncontrolled in 37 million and 48 million, respectively, according to a Vital Signs report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Heart disease is the leading killer in America, and the bottom line is that high blood pressure and high cholesterol are out of control for most Americans who have these conditions," CDC director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said during a teleconference accompanying the report's release.
High blood pressure and high cholesterol remain top risk factors for life-threatening conditions including strokes, heart attacks, and vascular diseases, he added.
Dr. Frieden had a message for physicians: Controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol is one of the most important things you can do for your patients. Know how many of your patients have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, what proportion are controlled, and what can be done to help more patients get these conditions under control, he said.
"We have seen many examples of health systems, health programs, and doctors' offices using information technology to support patients and drastically improve the levels of control, and that's something that is needed throughout health care in this country," he added.
The report was based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on adults aged 18 years and older. The findings also indicate that approximately 20 million U.S. adults with high blood pressure and 37 million with high cholesterol are not being treated for these conditions.
The prevalence of control of high blood pressure was 29% among adults without health insurance, and the control of high cholesterol was less than 15% among those with limited access to health care. But at least 80% of individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure and high cholesterol have health insurance, Dr. Frieden noted.
For those with health insurance, the characteristics of their specific plan are more likely to affect how likely they are to have high blood pressure or high cholesterol under control than are their personal characteristics, he said.
High blood pressure was defined as blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg or reported use of blood pressure–lowering medication. The national prevalence of high blood pressure remained stable over the past decade, although 70% of those with hypertension were being treated and 46% were being controlled, according to the report.
The criteria for high cholesterol included anyone taking cholesterol medication or having a LDL cholesterol level of 100 mg/dL or higher for high-risk individuals, 130 mg/dL or higher for intermediate-risk individuals, and 160 mg/dL for those at low risk.
The proportion of adults treated for high cholesterol increased from 28% to 48% over the past decade, and the proportion of those controlling their high cholesterol increased from less than 20% to more than 30%.
The findings were limited by the lack of data on individuals in nursing homes and other institutions that are not included in NHANES databases, the CDC researchers noted in the report.
"About 100,000 deaths [in the U.S.] are preventable by simple, low-cost improvements in our ability to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol," said Dr. Frieden. "Better control can save lives and save money."
The report is available online at www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns. More detailed information can be found in the Feb. 1 issue of the weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report (MMWR early release/vol. 60; Feb. 1, 2011).