Health Literacy

Each month, we feature select National Health Observances (NHOs) that support our mission to improve health across the United States. In May, we’re raising awareness about physical fitness, mental health, older adults’ health and well-being, and women’s health.Use our list of resources below to promote these NHOs with your networks...

Each month, we feature select National Health Observances (NHOs) that support our mission to improve health across the United States. In April, we’re raising awareness about minority health, alcohol use and misuse, and celebrating public health. We’ve listed some resources that you can use to promote these NHOs with your networks.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, puts tens of millions of people at risk for largely preventable conditions — such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure — and premature death. Hypertension is one of the leading modifiable risk factors causing chronic disease and premature mortality in the United States. Yet a large percentage of Americans are unaware that they have hypertension, and only about 1 in 4 adults in the United States have it under control. Preventing and controlling hypertension for Americans will save lives, reduce inordinate costs, and improve health, well-being, and resilience. The first step toward these outcomes is acknowledging that hypertension, sometimes called the “silent killer” for often going undetected before leading to serious harm, is also a “silent pandemic” — and though it’s not a contagious threat in the traditional sense, hypertension needs to be addressed with even greater attention and urgency. The statistics clearly define the problem.