New report focuses on how to reduce and control hypertension

High blood pressure is the second leading cause of death in the United States, triggering more than one-third of heart attacks and almost half of heart failures each year even though it is relatively easy to prevent and inexpensive to treat. In a new report, A Population-Based Policy and Systems Change Approach to Prevent and Control Hypertension, the Institute of Medicine explores the question of how we can better reduce and control the condition. The report focuses on diet, physical activity, and other public health approaches, as well as discusses the need for health care providers to better diagnose and treat hypertension. The report will be released with a one-hour public briefing on Monday, Feb. 22.

DETAILS:

11 a.m. to noon EST in Room 101 of the National Academies' Keck Center, 500 Fifth St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who cannot attend may participate via teleconference.

Participating from the committee that wrote the report:

• David Fleming (chair), director and health officer, Public Health -- Seattle/King County, Seattle
• Corinne Husten, senior medical adviser, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration; and former vice president for policy development, Partnership for Prevention, Washington D.C.
• Walter C. Willett, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and chair, department of nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston