HHS HealthBeat (September 12, 2008)

Bad signs early

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

It’s not high blood pressure, but it’s heading in that direction. And a lot of young adults have it.

It’s called prehypertension. And researchers have found that people with prehypertension by age 35 are more likely to have calcium in their heart arteries later in life. This means they’re at higher risk of a heart attack.

Mark Pletcher of the University of California, San Francisco, and his colleagues looked over data gathered with the support of the National Institutes of Health. About 20 percent had prehypertension.

``We think that if your blood pressure is over 120 over 80, that appears to be a risk factor for heart disease later in life, and shouldn’t be ignored.’’ (7 seconds)

Pletcher recommends regular physical activity, healthy eating and weight control.

The study is in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 12 2008