CardioExchange Archive

New data from the CDC show that in the years 2005 to 2008, 31% of adults in the U.S. had hypertension and 33.5% had high LDL cholesterol. The two reports are based on statistics gathered from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and have been published online by Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Of the nearly one-third of adults who had hypertension, 70% received treatment but fewer than half (46%) had their blood pressure controlled. Of the one-third of adults who had high LDL levels, fewer than half (48.1%) received treatment and only one-third (33.2%) had their LDL controlled. For both hypertension and elevated LDL cholesterol, control was lowest in people with little access to regular medical care (received care less than twice in the previous year), who were uninsured, who were Mexican-American, or who had incomes below the poverty level. Significant increases in the treatment of people with both conditions were observed since the 1999 to 2002 period.