Controlling hypertension from a public health perspective.

Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It affects 1 in 4 American adults making it the most common chronic condition in the country. Recent studies have shown that two thirds of hypertensives in the United States are undertreated or untreated. The goal for Healthy People 2010 is to achieve 50% control of blood pressure in 3 years. Several factors related to poor control include aging, obesity, lack of exercise, gender, race, access to health care, compliance issues and physician-related issues. Results from studies suggest that it may be possible to solve this public health problem. This requires interdisciplinary approaches to increase patient awareness and physician adherence to guidelines to realize the full benefits of hypertension research.