High blood pressure is also known as hypertension and it has been given the nickname of the 'silent killer'. Hypertension can be a fatal condition which develops slowly over a long period of time and most people do not experience any symptoms of the condition at all. As a result of its lack of signs and symptoms, high blood pressure often goes undiagnosed and untreated.

It was estimated that in the region of 50 million adults in the United States were suffering from high blood pressure in the early 1990's and this figure has been climbing steadily ever since. By the turn of this century it was estimated that in the region of 65 million people were suffering from high blood pressure and today that figure is now over 72 million. In other words, approximately one in three adults in the United States today is suffering from high blood pressure.

This is what some recent studies have revealed:

30% of high blood pressure sufferers are not aware of their condition and are consequently not receiving any treatment for it.

15% of the people know that they have high blood pressure but either they are not getting any treatment for it or they do not bother to follow the recommended treatment.

25% of high blood pressure sufferers are aware of their condition but do not at present have their condition under control.

All of this means that about only 30% of the people with hypertension are currently receiving the correct treatment for their hypertension and have it under control.

Although it is often said that it is not possible to tell if a person has high blood pressure there are a few tell-tale signs which may indicate that you have hypertension. Some of these signs and symptoms include headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and nausea.

High blood pressure is a major cause of death in the US today and it raises considerably the risk from a number of life threatening conditions such as heart failure, heart attack, cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.

Due to the nature of this condition it is sensible to keep an eye on things by checking your blood pressure at regular intervals and this can be done by visiting your doctor and asking for a blood pressure check. However, this is not always convenient and so a better option is to simply check your own pressure at home. There are a number of blood pressure monitors available today for use at home and these are both quick and simple to use and are also reasonably inexpensive.

Making use of your own blood pressure monitor at home allows you to keep an eye on the blood pressure of the whole family and will give you a great deal of peace of mind and ensure that you detect any developing problems early on so that they can be treated easily.