Prevalence of self-reported high blood pressure awareness, advice received from health professionals, and actions taken to reduce high blood pressure among US adults--Healthstyles 2002

Abstract

High blood pressure awareness, advice received from health care providers, and adoption of heart-healthy behaviors were assessed using the Healthstyles 2002 survey. About 20% of respondents reported that they had high blood pressure, and 53% of these were currently taking medications to lower blood pressure. Black men had the highest adjusted prevalence of high blood pressure (32%). Medication use among persons with high blood pressure was lower among Hispanics (45%) than among blacks (54%) and whites (54%). Persons reporting having high blood pressure were five times more likely to report having received advice from a health care professional to go on a diet or change eating habits (p<0.05) and reduce salt or sodium in their diet (p<0.05), but five times less likely to have received advice to exercise (p<0.05) than those reporting not having high blood pressure, after adjustment for differences in sex, race/ethnicity, and age. Persons with self-reported high blood pressure were also more likely to be making these modifications (p<0.05). Among people with high blood pressure, current medication use was associated with both receiving and following advice for diet change and salt reduction (p<0.05). Future initiatives are needed to improve the proportion of Hispanics and blacks taking prescribed medications to improve high blood pressure control and reduce risk for serious sequelae such as heart disease and stroke.

Figure 1

Weighted proportion of respondents who reported receiving advice from a physician or other health professional to make lifestyle modifications to help lower blood pressure (by self‐reported high blood pressure status)—Healthstyles 2002. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were obtained from multivariate logistic regression models with sex, age, and race/ethnicity as covariates.

Figure 2

Weighted proportion of respondents who reported taking action following advice from a physician or other health professional to make lifestyle modifications to help lower their blood pressure (by self‐reported high blood pressure status)—Healthstyles 2002. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were obtained from multivariate logistic regression models with sex, age, and race/ethnicity as covariates.