Anyone can develop high blood pressure, but some people are more likely to develop it than others. For example, high blood pressure is more common, develops earlier and is more severe in African-Americans than in caucasians.
In the early and middle adult years, men have high blood pressure more often than women. But as men and women age, the reverse is true. More women after menopause have high blood pressure than men of the same age, and the number of both men and women with high blood pressure increases rapidly in older age groups. More than half of all Americans over age 65 have high blood pressure. And older African-American women who live in the Southeast are more likely to have high blood pressure than those in other regions of the United States.
Heredity is another factor in who gets hypertension. Children of hypertensive parents or grandparents have a higher risk of developing hypertension. While the disease is most common in adults, it can be found in children as well.
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Reprinted with permission from the National Institutes of Health.
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