CDC: Third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, only half have it under control [View all]

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Sixty-seven million Americans - about one-third of the country - have high blood pressure, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released Tuesday.

However, only half of them have are actively working to control it.

About 36 million Americans aren't taking medication or other measures to keep their blood pressure at healthy levels.

"We have to roll up our sleeves and make high blood pressure control a priority every day, with every patient at every doctor's visit," CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a teleconference with TIME. "We can use the whole health-care team. We know that when pharmacists, nurse practitioners, allied health workers, office staff are all involved in care, we can see rapid and dramatic improvements in blood pressure control."

High blood pressure or hypertension is a condition where a person has a systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mmHg, according to the CDC. Left untreated, it is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. People with high blood pressure are four times more likely to die from a stroke and three times more likely to die from heart disease. The disease contributes to nearly 1,000 deaths per day and about $131 billion in direct healthcare costs annually.

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