Princeton, NJ (January 2002): High blood pressure --- one of the major risk factors leading to heart disease --- can be controlled by the individual if properly monitored. Surprisingly over 70% of those diagnosed with high blood pressure do not know their target blood pressure numbers according to results from the annual Consumer Health Sciences National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) of over 22,000 U.S. adults.

"Hypertension is a silent disease," notes Joan Sinopoli, President, Consumer Health Sciences. "It's difficult to get patients to stay on the medication they need when they aren't 'feeling bad'. But the fact that most diagnosed sufferers aren't even paying attention to their target numbers is shocking. Patients aren't getting the message that this is a serious disease."

High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) directly increases the risk of heart disease, which leads to heart attack and stroke. Blood pressure of less than 140/90 is considered a normal reading for adults. The higher/first number (systolic) represents the pressure while the heart is beating. The lower/second number (diastolic) represents the pressure when the heart is resting between beats. Blood pressure greater than 140/90 is considered elevated and requires treatment.

The Consumer Health Sciences National Health and Wellness Survey notes the additional facts about hypertension:

• In the United States, more than 25% of adults are diagnosed with hypertension.
• Although the stereotypical sufferer of hypertension is an older man, in fact women are just as likely to suffer from hypertension as men, and nearly 20% of diagnosed hypertensives are between the ages of 31-44.
• High cholesterol, another leading risk factor for heart disease, has the same type of statistics as hypertension: 71% of people diagnosed with high cholesterol are unaware of their target cholesterol count.

Consumer Health Sciences is an international consumer healthcare market research and consulting company. Founded in 1996 by Jane A. Donahue, PhD, CHS' mission is to help the pharmaceutical industry understand and incorporate consumer attitudes and behaviors into their strategic thinking and marketing planning processes.

For additional information, visit www.CHSinternational.com.