( Findings Show Compliance with Medicatio...)Hypertension Education Foundation Survey Results Announced At,American Society For Hypertension Annual Meeting Suggests Improved,Control Of High Blood Pressure, But Misconceptions Still Exist,Health

NEW YORK, May 19, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Results of a survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R) for the Hypertension Education Foundation (HEF) were presented at the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. (ASH) Twenty-Second Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2007) in Chicago and published in the May issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension. The survey suggests encouraging progress in controlling hypertension, also known as high blood pressure (HBP). There remains a disconnect, however, between knowledge of what should be done, such as following physician recommendations about treatment and lifestyle management, and the actions American adults are taking to manage HBP and the risk factors associated with it.

"Effective management of hypertension and the decrease in strokes and cardiovascular events provide a dramatic example of successful disease prevention," says Dr. Marvin Moser, president of the HEF. "Results of this survey indicate that nine out of ten people that have been diagnosed with high blood pressure are on some medication to control it. This is encouraging, but we have a long way to go since blood pressure is not controlled at goal levels in many of them. Our findings highlight several points, including the following: misconceptions regarding high blood pressure, the need for better patient communication, and evidence indicating that many adult Americans have not altered their lifestyle to help prevent the complications of hypertension."

Nearly 60 million American adults have HBP; it has been estimated that about one-third of them do not know they have the condition because it is associated with few symptoms. High blood pressure is a primary or contributing cause of death
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