It has been estimated that raised blood pressure causes 51% of stroke deaths and 45% of coronary heart disease deaths.
Mean blood pressure has decreased
dramatically in nearly all high-income countries. For
example, mean age-standardized male systolic blood
pressure (SBP) in the United States decreased from
131 mm Hg (95% uncertainty interval 127–135) in
1980 to 123 mm Hg (120–127) in 2008, while mean
age-standardized female SBP decreased from 125
mm Hg (121–130) to 118 mm Hg (115–122) mm Hg.
In contrast, mean blood pressure has been stable or
increasing in most African countries.14,15 Today, mean
blood pressure remains very high in many African and