ABSTRACT
Hypertension is the most common primary diagnosis in the United States; despite extensive research over the past several decades, the cause of most cases of adult hypertension is still unknown. Control of blood pressure is inadequate in the general population. Hypertension is one of the top five cardiovascular disease risk factors, along with abnormal cholesterol and other fats in the blood, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and smoking. Hypertension is a consequence of abnormal blood vessel health, both structure and function, inflammation, oxidative stress and immune disorders of the artery, low levels of nitric oxide, endothelial dysfunction, and low levels of micronutrients and macronutrients. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the up to the minute information that one should know about hypertension that could save the life and prevent a deadly heart attack, heart failure, stroke, or kidney failure.
