High Blood Pressure Symptoms, Causes and Tests

A staggering three-quarters of Americans over age 60 have high blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, putting them at increased risk for stroke, heart attack and heart failure. Men tend to have higher blood pressure rates in their younger years, but women catch up around the time of menopause. Hypertension increases with age: Only 22.4 percent of people ages 18–39 have the condition. But those numbers rise to 54.5 percent for people age 40–59 and 74.5 percent for people 60 and over. These alarming rates are even higher for people of color, especially for African Americans. Hypertension prevalence across all ages is higher among non-Hispanic Black adults (57.1 percent) than non-Hispanic white (43.6 percent) or Hispanic (43.7 percent) adults.  What causes high blood pressure? “The main cause of high blood pressure is aging blood vessels,” said JordanaCohen, MD, MSCE,Associate Professor of Medicine, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension at the Hospital of the University of Penns...