There is a great deal of awareness dealing with the potential for serious health consequences from high blood pressure. However, new research has revealed young adults are undertreated for for hypertension, reported MedPage Today. This new study implies primary care physicians may not be aggressive enough about getting young adults with hypertension the medication they need to control their blood pressure.
Young adults who have hypertension have been observed to have the lowest prevalence of controlled blood pressure in comparison to middle-aged and older adults, reports the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Hypertension which is not controlled, even in young adults, increases the risk for future cardiovascular events. Nevertheless, this research found that even with regular primary care contact and continued high blood pressure, young adults had slower rates of initiation with antihypertensive medication than middle-aged and older adults.
The researchers have said, “To improve young adult hypertension control, interventions need to address both bio-behavioral risk factors for hypertension (body mass index, exercise, tobacco use) and antihypertensive medication initiation.” Clearly, interventions are necessary to address multifactorial barriers which contribute to poor hypertension control among young adults. Hypertension is a silent killer and without more aggressive efforts to treat this condition the cost could be unusually high for young adults.
