{"id":9481,"date":"2025-03-01T13:55:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T18:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/hypertensionupdate\/"},"modified":"2025-03-02T00:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T05:24:07","slug":"hypertensionupdate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/hypertensionupdate\/","title":{"rendered":"dpc\/hypertensionupdate ~  Hypertension BRFS Data Update  &#8211; Delaware Health and Social Services &#8211; State of Delaware"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-swiftype-index=\"true\">\n\n\n\n\n\n  <br>\n\n\n  \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\" id=\"main_header\">\n\n\n    <!-- BEGIN readspeaker div -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"rs_skip rsbtn rs_preserve\" id=\"readspeaker_button1\">\n\n\n      <a accesskey=\"L\" class=\"rsbtn_play\" href=\"https:\/\/app-na.readspeaker.com\/cgi-bin\/rsent?customerid=7262&#038;lang=en_us&#038;readid=main_content&#038;url=https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/hypertensionupdate.html\" title=\"Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker\">\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_left rsimg rspart\"><span class=\"rsbtn_text\"><span>Listen<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_right rsimg rsplay rspart\"><\/span>\n\n\n      <\/a>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <!-- END readspeaker div -->\n\n\n\n\n\n    \n\n\n    <header class=\"pull-left\">\n\n\n      <h1><!--[type=EDIT name=\"Page Title\"]--><\/h1><h1> Delaware Hypertension Data Summary<\/h1><h1><!--[END]--><\/h1>\n\n\n    <\/header>\n\n\n  <\/div><br>\n\n\n \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\">\n\n\n    <div class=\"row\">\n\n\n      <div class=\"col-md-3\" id=\"leftCol\">\n\n\n        <div class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\">\n\n\n          <div class=\"panel sectionmenu_panel\">\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\">\n\n\n              <p class=\"panel-title\"><a class=\"agency_nav\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapseOne\"><strong><i class=\"fa fa-align-justify fa-fw\"><\/i> Public Health Menu<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n            <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-collapse collapse in\" id=\"collapseOne\">\n\n\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" id=\"clf_nav\">\n\n\n                  <ul class=\"nav nav-stacked nav-pills-clf\" id=\"agency_sidebar\">\n    <li><a href=\"\/dph\/\"><h2>Home <i class=\"fa fa-home fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a><\/li>\n    <li class=\"toplevel\"><a data-parent=\"#agency_sidebar\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#HomeMenu\"><h2>About <i class=\"fa fa-caret-right fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n      <ul class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"HomeMenu\">\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/about.html\">About DPH<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/sections.html\">Sections &#038; 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It is known as the <strong>\u201csilent killer\u201d<\/strong> because there usually are no symptoms.\u00a0 In some rare cases, it can cause headaches and vomiting.\u00a0 However, the only way to know if someone has hypertension is to have a health professional measure blood pressure over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The Delaware Behavior Risk Factor Survey (BRFS) asks questions about hypertension awareness in odd-numbered years.\u00a0 Prevalence has remained steady for the past nine years\u2014<strong>34.8 percent in 2011, 35.6 percent in 2013, 34.5 percent in 2015, 34.9 percent in 2017, and 36.4 percent in 2019, and 36.2 percent in 2021<\/strong>. \u00a0 There is no statistically significant difference in prevalence between men (37.7 percent) and women (34.9 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, Non-Hispanic Black adults (42.5<strong>\u00a0percent<\/strong>) had a slightly (but not significantly) higher prevalence of reported hypertension than Non-Hispanic White adults (37.5 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Hypertension prevalence increases with age.\u00a0 Prevalence of hypertension among Delaware adults by age:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>16.8 percent<\/strong> of 18-44 year-olds<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>32.8 percent<\/strong> of 45-54 year-olds<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>46.6 percent<\/strong>\u00a0of adults age 55-64, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>62.4 percent<\/strong> of age 65\u00a0 or older<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>As education and income increases, the prevalence of hypertension decreases.\u00a0 Among Delaware adults with a high school diploma or GED, 37.9 percent report being diagnosed with hypertension, compared with 33.8 percent of those with a college degree. Likewise, 45 percent of adults\u00a0 $25,000.00 reported they have high blood pressure, compared with 33.1 percent of adults with incomes higher than $100,000 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3>Risk Factors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Risk factors for hypertension include health conditions, lifestyle risks, and family history or genetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conditions:<\/strong>\u00a0 Diabetes is known to be associated with hypertension.\u00a0 Of Delaware adults with diabetes,\u00a0<strong>73.1<strong> <\/strong>percent<\/strong> also report being told by a health professional they have hypertension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Behavior:<\/strong>\u00a0 Behavioral risk factors include poor diet, high sodium (salt) intake, physical inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and tobacco use.\u00a0Among adults who are physically inactive,\u00a0<strong>43.8 percent<\/strong> report having\u00a0hypertension (compared with\u00a033.4 percent who reported no leisure-time physical activity); and <strong>47.7 percent<\/strong>\u00a0of obese\u00a0adults\u00a0have hypertension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Family history and genetics:<\/strong>\u00a0 Family history and genetics are likely to play a role in whether an individual develops hypertension.\u00a0 The risk of hypertension can increase when someone who has a family history of hypertension also engages in other behavioral risk factors, such as smoking or physical inactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Medication<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>For some people with hypertension, medication in conjunction with reducing risk factors can be an effective way to control blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Of Delaware adults who have hypertension,\u00a0<strong>79.1 percent<\/strong> are currently taking medication for hypertension.\u00a0 As age increases, so does hypertension medication usage.\u00a0 Of those Delawareans with hypertension ages 45-54, 75.1 percent report they are\u00a0currently taking medication, compared to 87.6 percent of\u00a0adults ages 55-64, and 92.8 percent of adults age 65 and older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Complications:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Uncontrolled hypertension can cause damage to a number of different organs within the body.\u00a0 These organs include the heart, brain, and kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Heart:<\/strong> Over time, uncontrolled hypertension can cause arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, decreasing the flow of blood to a person\u2019s heart leading to heart disease.\u00a0 This, in turn, can lead to angina or chest pain, heart failure, and heart attack.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Brain<\/strong>: Uncontrolled hypertension can cause stroke by causing a burst or block in an artery in the brain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Kidneys:<\/strong>\u00a0People with uncontrolled hypertension are at risk for developing chronic kidney disease, a loss of kidney function.\u00a0 This condition can cause retention of fluid, electrolytes, and wastes in the body because the kidneys are unable to filter the blood.\u00a0 As the chronic kidney disease progresses, it can be fatal without dialysis (artificial filtering of the blood) or a kidney transplant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3>What You Can Do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Use Medicines As Directed<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>There are medications that can help lower and control hypertension, decreasing the risk of complications.\u00a0 If a medicine is prescribed for you, take it as instructed.\u00a0 If you reduce risk factors\u2014for example by starting an exercise program or changing your diet\u2014tell your doctor or health care team.\u00a0 Your medication may need to be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4>Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n <li>Some research suggests <strong>self-monitoring your blood pressure <\/strong>at home with a self-monitoring device may help you lower your blood pressure. If you are willing and able to self-monitor, you may want to discuss this option in conjunction with other treatments with your health care team. The Division of Public Health offers free classes to promote the use of blood pressure self-monitoring. More information is available <u><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/selfmanagement\"><span style=\"color:#800000;\">on the HealthyDelaware website<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/u>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Manage any other health conditions you have. If you need help learning to manage any diagnosed chronic disease, the Division of Public Health offers free classes. A class schedule is available <strong><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/selfmanagement\">on the Healthy Delaware website<\/a><\/u>.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Don\u2019t smoke<\/strong>. \u00a0 If you don\u2019t smoke, don\u2019t start.\u00a0 If you smoke, try to quit. \u00a0And if you smoke, don\u2019t expose others to your second-hand smoke. \u00a0If you need help quitting, call the <strong>toll-free Delaware Quitline at 1-866-409-1858<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Be <a href=\"getfit.html\"><strong>physically active<\/strong><\/a>, including both <strong>strength-building and aerobic exercise<\/strong>.\u00a0 Children and youth should get an hour of physical activity daily, and adults should get at least 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Maintain a <strong>healthy weight<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Eat a diet high in vegetables and fruits, and low in saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and sugars.\u00a0 <a href=\"\/dph\/dpc\/eatright.html\"><strong>Eat primarily high nutrient, low-calorie foods<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Eat a low-sodium diet<\/strong>.\u00a0 Don\u2019t add salt to foods, and choose foods that are lower in sodium. For individuals with hypertension, reduction to 1,500 mg. per day can result in greater blood pressure reduction<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>If you drink alcoholic beverages, <a href=\"alcoholuse2015.html\"><strong>do so in moderation<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 up to one per day for women or smaller adults or up to two per day for men or larger adults.\u00a0 Never drink when it could put you or others at risk.\u00a0 Women who are pregnant should not drink alcohol.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>For more information regarding hypertension and other chronic diseases and their related risk factors, visit <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/Individuals\/Heart\/High-Blood-Pressure\">HealthyDelaware.org<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>If you have been told by your provider you have high blood pressure, you can register<strong> for a <\/strong><em><strong>free <\/strong><\/em><strong>Chronic Disease Self-Management Program using<\/strong> our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/selfmanagement\">online registration at HealthyDelaware.org<\/a><\/strong> or by calling 302-990-0522.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<hr>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><strong><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/dph\/pdf\/2021DelawareHypertensionDS.pdf\">A printable PDF version of this page is available here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"brfsurveys.html\">Return to the main Delaware BRFS page.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n  <!--[END]-->\n\n\n  \n\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><!-- \/container -->\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen Delaware Hypertension Data Summary Public Health Menu Home About About DPH Sections &#038; Programs Office Locations Contact Info Calendar Services A-Z Services Air &#038; Water Quality Birth, Death, &#038; Marriage Records Clinics Health Data &#038; Statistics Emergency Preparedness Health &#038; Wellness Healthy Homes Healthy Workplaces Laboratory Restaurant Inspections Screening and Testing WIC Additional Services [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":9401,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9481","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10720,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9481\/revisions\/10720"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}