ABSTRACT
Hypertension is one of the earliest manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In the United States, hypertension is currently deWned as a systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) greater than or equal to 140 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and or 90 mm Hg, respectively, as measured on at least two separate occasions ( Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure [JNC], 1997). These criteria reXect a lowering, over time, of the BP cutoffs used to deWne hypertension. Cross-cultural differences in hypertension criteria are also common.
