Blood Pressure:

One in every four adults has high blood pressure, and many don't know it. About 90 percent of middle-aged will develop high blood pressure in their lifetime, and nearly 70 percent of people with high blood pressure do not have it under control.

High blood pressure is also called hypertension. It has few symptoms, but many effects, including a very high risk of heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular problems. Everyone should have their blood pressure checked regularly. If the top number is higher than 140, or the bottom number is higher than 90, a person has high blood pressure and needs a doctor's advice about lowering it.

If the numbers are slightly lower (120 to 139, or 80 to 89), a person has borderline high blood pressure and should talk with a doctor.

Many factors make blood pressure go up, including genes that we inherit from our parents, as well as what we eat and drink, how much we weigh, how often and how hard we exercise, and whether we smoke. Blood pressure also tends to go up as people get older, although many young and middle-aged adults have high blood pressure.

To bring blood pressure down, or keep it from getting too high, doctors often recommend exercise, a diet low in salt and fat, moderate or no alcohol use, no tobacco smoking, and weight control. You can't control your genes or your age, but there are things you can do to prevent or reduce high blood pressure even if you have genes that might make you more likely to have it.

Medication can also lower high blood pressure, but it often takes trial and error, or a combination of medicines, to bring down blood pressure once it has gotten high.

Genetics research, such as that led by the University of Michigan, is trying to find out which genes, and gene variations, are linked to high blood pressure — and use that information to develop tests and treatments for blood pressure problems. The Tecumseh Blood Pressure Study is crucial to this effort; the families taking part have agreed to let U-M researchers study their health, lifestyle and DNA to look for patterns and links to blood pressure.