About one third of people with high blood pressure don't know that they have it, as it can have nonspecific symptoms that may go unnoticed for years. High blood pressure can affect anyone. High blood pressure left untreated can damage major organs including the heart, brain, and kidney. It is a major risk factor in heart failure, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and certain kinds of blindness. High blood pressure is a risk factor or a cause of more than 210,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
Many more people suffer with impaired abilities caused by the consequences of high blood pressure.