CDC report: High blood pressure and cholesterol out of control in US

According to a recent report from the CDC, an adult dies from a cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack or stroke in the United States every 39 seconds. Cardiovascular disease in the U.S. alone claims the lives of more than 800,000 adults each year, 150,000 of whom are under the age of 65.

Two main reasons people have cardiovascular disease are high blood pressure and cholesterol, which are common, deadly and preventable. 68 million US adults have high blood pressure and 71 million US adults have high cholesterol. Far too few people have these conditions under control, even if they have health insurance. In fact, more than 80% of people who don't have their high blood pressure or cholesterol under control already have health insurance, indicating that for most patients, health insurance is not sufficient to achieve control.

Clinical services that detect and help control high blood pressure or cholesterol are not being delivered to all those in need. Improvements in the way health care is delivered are needed in order to achieve greater levels of control.