Nearly one in five young U.S. adults may have high blood pressure, researchers said on Wednesday in a study suggesting the problem of hypertension is more widespread than previously thought. Hypertension is easy to prevent and inexpensive to treat through diet, exercise and drugs, yet it is the second-leading cause of death in the United States. The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences that often conducts studies for the government, last year declared high blood pressure a “neglected disease” that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.
