Hypertension
Hypertension research papers show that hypertension is a chronic medical condition that leads to increased susceptibility to life-threatening diseases. Coronary heart disease and stroke, the number one and number two leading causes of death in the United States, are directly attributable to hypertension. As the incidence of heart disease and stroke begins to increase, finding viable methods for treating and curing the hypertension becomes imperative.
Hypertension is an Epidemic
It can be effectively argued that hypertension is fast becoming a worldwide epidemic. Using criteria developed by the World Health Organization, (1997) reports that among South African men the incidence of hypertension had tripled in the past 5 years; for women the rate has almost doubled. Additionally hypertension research papers report that recent statistics in Canada indicate that 20 percent of all Canadian adults currently suffer from high blood pressure. Much analysis of statistical information regarding the proliferation of hypertension in the United States has been reported. The sum total of this data tell us that in the United States:
The Effects of Hypertension
- Hypertension affects 23 to 60 million people.
- Approximately 90 percent of all hypertensives have high blood pressure of unknown etiology.
- Despite the fact that rates of morbidity and mortality associated with hypertension decreased in the years between 1972 and 1992, evidence suggests that they are on the rise again.
- In 1997, there were 79,102 new cases of end-stage renal disease reported; of which 25 percent are attributable to hypertension.
- In 1997 hypertension contributed to the deaths of 253,000 people, compared with 41,00 deaths from breast cancer.