JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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- To study the relative and population-attributable risks of hypertension for the development of congestive heart failure (CHF), to assess the time course of progression from hypertension to CHF, and to identify risk factors that contribute to the development of overt heart failure in hypertensive subjects. ⋯ - Hypertension was the most common risk factor for CHF, and it contributed a large proportion of heart failure cases in this population-based sample. Preventive strategies directed toward earlier and more aggressive blood pressure control are likely to offer the greatest promise for reducing the incidence of CHF and its associated mortality.
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- To examine the prevalence, incidence, predisposing factors for hypertension, its hazards as an ingredient of the cardiovascular risk profile, and the implications of this information for prevention and treatment. ⋯ - The absence of a decline in the prevalence of hypertension indicates an urgent need for primary prevention by weight control, exercise, and reduced salt and alcohol intake. The urgency and choice of therapy of existing hypertension should be based on the multivariate cardiovascular risk profile that more appropriately targets hypertensive persons for treatment and prevention of cardiovascular sequelae.