Blood Pressure Awareness, Treatment Up

More U.S. adults know that they have high blood pressure and are taking medicine for it, a new report says. But the overall rate of the condition among U.S. adults is steady. It’s been about 30% for the last decade. The report comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s based on government health surveys from 1999 through 2008. In all, more than 24,000 people were surveyed. They also got blood pressure checks. In early surveys, 70% who had high blood pressure were aware of it. That increased to nearly 81% by the last survey. Also, nearly 74% who had high blood pressure were taking medicine for it, up from about 60%. The Associated Press wrote about the report October 27.