Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.


High blood pressure or hypertension is often called a silent killer because it does its damage before symptoms show up. That's why doctors put a lot of emphasis on detecting it, as well as on lifestyle changes that may help delay it. This week on Health Watch, we'll look at high blood pressure and what you can do about it.

Dr. Ron Victor, chief of the hypertension division at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and an expert on high blood pressure, says it can't really be prevented. It's nearly inevitable if you live long enough. A person who reaches the age of 65 with normal blood pressure still has a more than 90 percent chance of developing high blood pressure in the next 20 years.

One key in dealing with it is to delay its onset. That's what we'll talk about next on Health Watch.

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^March 2006

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