Hypertension and high blood pressure 1988-2018

* Defined as having measured high blood pressure or taking high blood pressure medication. High blood pressure is defined as having measured systolic pressure of at least 130 mm Hg or diastolic pressure of at least 80 mm Hg. Those with high blood pressure may also be taking prescribed medicine for high blood pressure. For high blood pressure medication use, respondents were asked, ”Are you now taking prescribed medicine for your high blood pressure?” Pregnant women are excluded.
In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association Task Force recommended adopting lower thresholds of high blood pressure. For systolic blood pressure, the threshold was lowered from 140 mm Hg to 130 mm Hg, and for diastolic blood pressure, from 90 mm Hg to 80 mm Hg. These revised thresholds have been applied to all data years presented.