Health Dangers High Blood Pressure Plus High Cholesterol

A majority of adults with high blood pressure (hypertension) also have high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia). Reviewing data from the National Health and Nutritional Evaluation Surveys (NHANES) for three periods: 1988 to 1994, 1999 to 2004, and 2005 to 2010, Brent M. Egan, from the Medical University of South Carolina (South Carolina, USA), and colleagues reveal that fewer than one-third of patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia achieve adequate control of both conditions, raising their risks of coronary heart disease by 50% or more.   The study authors warn that: “Despite progress, opportunities for improving concomitant hypertension and hypercholesterolemia control persist.”