According to the CDC, blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Too much pressure on the arteries can the arteries to weaken and burst or to become blocked, stopping blood flow. 

Nationally, the prevalence of high blood pressure awareness is estimated to be 32.4%.  In Connecticut, the estimated prevalence is 27.9% among adults (18+ years old).

High blood pressure prevalence prevalence among Connecticut adults has remained constant over time. This may be due to the persistence of modifiable risk factors. Known modifiable risk factors for high blood pressure include dietary intake of sodium, potassium, and alcohol, as well as physical inactivity and obesity.

To improve the precision of the estimates, two years of data are aggregated or combined. The years listed on the x-axis of the chart represent the end-point of the two years. For example, the 2003 data point is the average of data from 2001 and 2003. However, the data point for 2011 represents only one year of data because of the change in survey methodology that occurred that year. The question about high blood pressure awareness is included in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey in odd-numbered years only.

Rates are age-adjusted to the US 2000 population. Percentages are age-adjusted to eliminate differences in crude rates that result from differences in the populations’ age distributions from year to year.

Note: New BRFSS weighting and survey methodologies began in 2011 and include data collected from cellular telephones. These rates are not comparable to rates from 2010 and earlier.

The target was developed as part of Healthy Connecticut 2020 and Live Healthy Connecticut, A Coordinated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Plan.

These data are current as of December 2022.  New data will be made available in the Fall of 2024.

For more cardiovascular diseases statistics, visit www.ct.gov/dph/heartstrokedata.

Potential Partners:
Connecticut Department of Public Health; Connecticut Department of Agriculture; Connecticut Department of
Social Services; Department of Rehabilitation Services State Unit on Aging; Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection;
Office of the Healthcare Advocate; local public health agencies; health care providers including community health
centers, hospitals, nurses and physicians; health professional associations; health insurers; pharmaceutical
companies; other businesses and business associations; American Heart Association; other organizations and
coalitions focused on heart disease and stroke; community service providers that serve seniors and other at-risk
populations; philanthropic and research organizations that address heart disease and stroke; schools of public
health, allied health, nursing, and medicine; faith-based organizations; and others.

Team-based care to improve blood pressure control, self-blood pressure monitoring, pharmacists' collaborative drug therapy management, reduced sodium consumption, and electronic health records.

Also, the Guide to Community Preventive Services Task Force made the following recommendations regarding cardiovascular disease prevention and control:
1. Clinical Decision Support Systems can increase the quality of cardiovascular care. Clinical Decision Support Systems are computer-based information systems designed to assist healthcare providers in implementing clinical guidelines at the point of care.
2. Reduced out-of-pocket costs for patients is associated with improvements in medication adherence, and blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes.
3. Team-based care led to better control of high blood pressure. Team-based care to improve blood pressure control is a health systems-level, organizational intervention that incorporates a multidisciplinary team to improve the quality of hypertension care for patients.

Potential strategies are: Exploring insurance incentives to promote employee wellness programs and reward non-smokers

Communicate and educate on the burden of high blood pressure to multiple audiences and through multiple modes

Develop and/or leverage community outreach and education messages that address common lifestyle factors to prevent high blood pressure

Conduct provider education on health promotion and referrals to community resources; patient education on blood pressure self-monitoring

Promote multi-sector collaboration to improve access to preventive services and to inform constituents on benefits of blood pressure and cholesterol screenings

Expand use of health information technology; develop self-management interventions linking community and clinical services; develop interventions to address social determinants of health