AMA encourages more patients to know numbers on World Hypertension Day

CHICAGO — With nearly half of all adults in the U.S. now living with high blood pressure and at increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the American Medical Association (AMA) is today — on World Hypertension Day — urging more Americans to monitor their blood pressure levels and take quick action to get their high blood pressure, or hypertension, under control.

“On World Hypertension Day, the AMA is calling on the millions of Americans who have uncontrolled hypertension to take control of their heart health by monitoring their blood pressure levels and making healthy lifestyle changes that can significantly reduce the risk of serious health consequences associated with high blood pressure,” said AMA President David O. Barbe, M.D. “Along with the devastating impact that it has on patients and their families, heart disease also creates an enormous financial ripple effect across the entire health care system. By empowering more patients to monitor and control their blood pressure, we will help improve health outcomes for more patients and reduce health care costs.”