Impact of hypertension information on high blood pressure control between 1973 and 1978.

To determine whether the immense multifocal efforts in the United States over the past 7 years to detect and treat high blood pressure (BP), had affected the status of hypertension, data from a national household survey in 1973-74 were compared with data obtained in 1977-78 from a second non-overlapping population in the same three communities. The impact of hypertension programs was measured by assessing change over the 5-year period in BP distribution, degree of awareness, and level of treatment in the population. Our data show that a substantial improvement in the status of high BP detection, treatment, and control has occurred since the early 1970s for all age, sex, and race groups studied.