2020 Q3 BQ Journal Vol 40 - 29

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Weekly / Vol. 69 / No. 14

April 10, 2020

Prevalence of Self-Reported Hypertension and Antihypertensive Medication
Use Among Adults - United States, 2017
Claudine M. Samanic, PhD1,2,3; Kamil E. Barbour, PhD1; Yong Liu, MD1; Jing Fang, MD4; Hua Lu, MS1; Linda Schieb, MSPH4; Kurt J. Greenlund, PhD1

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor
for heart disease and stroke (1). The prevalence of hypertension is higher among men than among women, increases
with age, is highest among non-Hispanic blacks (blacks) (2),
and has been consistently highest in the Southeastern region
of the United States (1). To update prevalence estimates for
self-reported hypertension and use of antihypertensive medication, CDC analyzed data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The overall (unadjusted)
prevalence of self-reported hypertension was 32.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 32.1%-32.7%). The age-standardized,
median state-specific prevalence of self-reported hypertension
was 29.7% (range = 24.3%-38.6%). Overall age-standardized
hypertension prevalence was higher among men (32.9%)
than among women (27.0%), highest among blacks (40.0%),
decreased with increasing levels of education and household
income, and was generally highest in the Southeastern and
Appalachian states.* Among persons reporting hypertension,
the overall unadjusted prevalence of self-reported antihypertensive medication use was 76.0% (95% CI = 75.5%-76.4%).
The age-standardized, median state-specific prevalence of
antihypertensive medication use among persons with reported
hypertension was 59.4% (range = 50.2%-71.2%). Prevalence
was higher among women than men, highest among blacks
compared with other racial/ethnic groups, and highest among
states in the Southeast, Appalachia, and the Dakotas. These
findings can help inform CDC's initiatives to enhance hypertension awareness, treatment, and control across all states.
BRFSS† is an annual, random-digit-dialed telephone survey (both landline and mobile phone), representative of the
noninstitutionalized adult population aged ≥18 years of the

50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and U.S. territories. In 2017, a total of 450,016 adults were interviewed. The
present study includes data from the 50 states and DC; the
median response rate was 45.9% (range = 30.6%-64.1%).§
Respondents were classified as having hypertension if they
answered "yes" to the question "Have you ever been told by a
doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high
§ https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/2017/pdf/2017-sdqr-508.pdf.

INSIDE
399 Vital Signs: Newly Reported Acute and Chronic
Hepatitis C Cases - United States, 2009-2018
405 Update to U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for
Contraceptive Use, 2016: Updated
Recommendations for the Use of Contraception
Among Women at High Risk for HIV Infection
411 Presymptomatic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 -
Singapore, January 23-March 16, 2020
416 Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Among Residents and
Staff Members of an Independent and Assisted
Living Community for Older Adults - Seattle,
Washington, 2020
419 Rapid Sentinel Surveillance for COVID-19 - Santa
Clara County, California, March 2020
422 Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children - United
States, February 12-April 2, 2020
427 Notes from the Field: Seasonal Human
Influenza A(H3N2) and Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09
Reassortant Infection - Idaho, 2019
429 QuickStats

* https://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp.
† https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html.

Continuing Education examination available at
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_continuingEducation.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Diagnostics I Pharmaceuticals I DxRx Solutions I Continuing Education I News
29

20MS5677_BQ_journal_40.indd 29

A Henry Schein Publication

7/13/20 12:19 PM

https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/2017/pdf/2017-sdqr-508.pdf https://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/TheAppalachianRegion.asp https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_continuingEducation.html

2020 Q3 BQ Journal Vol 40

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