Chronic hypertension epidemiology and demographics

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Associate Editor in Chief: Firas Ghanem, M.D. and Atif Mohammad, M.D.

Epidemiology & Demographics

The level of blood pressure regarded as deleterious has been revised down during years of epidemiological studies. A widely quoted and important series of such studies is the Framingham Heart Study carried out in an American town: Framingham, Massachusetts. The results from Framingham and of similar work in Busselton, Western Australia have been widely applied. To the extent that people are similar this seems reasonable, but there are known to be genetic variations in the most effective drugs for particular sub-populations. Recently (2004), the Framingham figures have been found to overestimate risks for the UK population considerably. The reasons are unclear. Nevertheless the Framingham work has been an important element of UK health policy.