According to the CDC, half of Americans suffer from the “silent killer” disease.

Nearly half of Americans have a terminal illness that puts them at risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

A new CDC report found that between 2020 and 2023, 47.7 percent of adults ages 18 and older had high blood pressure or high blood pressure, roughly the same prevalence as the 2017 to 2020 CDC report.

Additionally, according to the CDC, about four in 10 adults don’t even know they have the disease, meaning they don’t receive treatment and are therefore at a much higher risk of fatal complications.

High blood pressure is a major or contributing factor in more than 685,000 deaths per year in the United States alone.

The results suggest the government is on track to miss its target of reducing the prevalence of high blood pressure to 41 percent by 2030.

Women saw a sharp increase – from 40 percent in the previous report to 45 percent in this year’s report.

People aged 18 to 39 had a prevalence of 23 percent. The prevalence was about 53 percent in people ages 40 to 59 and 72 percent in Americans ages 60 and older.

While the prevalence decreased slightly in the older age groups, there was a slight increase in the younger age groups.

This slight increase could be a factor in the increase in strokes and heart disease among young people.

The number of strokes among Americans under 45 has increased nearly 15 percent since 2011, according to a separate report from the CDC. The agency attributed the increase in part to a rise in high blood pressure, but also to a nationwide increase in obesity and drug addiction.

The Cleveland Clinic lists recreational drug use, unhealthy diets and a sedentary lifestyle as risk factors for high blood pressure.

However, healthy and active people are not immune to high blood pressure.

The latest CDC report found that 59 percent of people with high blood pressure knew they had the disease and about half were taking medication to lower their blood pressure.

However, this varied greatly between age groups. Only 27 percent of 18 to 39 year olds knew they had high blood pressure, compared to 74 percent of those over 60 who were aware of their condition.

For this reason, treatment also varied. Only 14 percent of younger people treated their high blood pressure compared to 69 percent of seniors.

However, despite intensive treatment, only 21 percent of people managed to control their blood pressure to a healthy level.

In the 2017-2021 and 2021-2023 surveys, there was no significant change in the percentage of people who were aware of, treated or had their hypertension under control.

Typically, high blood pressure doesn’t cause any symptoms, which is why doctors call it the “silent killer,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. However, if blood pressure is higher than 180/120 mmHg, headaches, heart palpitations and nosebleeds may occur.

Blood pressure of this level is considered a “hypertensive crisis” and requires immediate medical attention.

According to the CDC, high blood pressure was the leading cause of about 685,900 deaths in the United States in 2022.

Over time, high blood pressure can weaken the heart and blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease, including sudden cardiac arrest, and increasing the risk of stroke and dementia.

To treat high blood pressure, doctors recommend lifestyle changes, such as: Such as achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, reducing salt consumption, limiting alcohol consumption, engaging in physical activity, and ensuring adequate intake of potassium, a mineral and electrolyte involved in important body processes.