101 Questions & Answers About Hypertension

101 Questions & Answers About Hypertension answers all the most important questions about hypertension and its relationship to other diseases, from hypothyroidism and Alzheimer's to arteriosclerosis and preeclampsia, among others. It also has suggestions for positive lifestyle changes as well as information on alternative and traditional treatment options and questions related to change of life and the effectiveness of blood pressure machines in pharmacies, shopping malls, etc.

Question 8 addresses the enormous magnitude of hypertension in the United States. Hypertension is a precursor to stroke and cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease kills nearly 1 million Americans every year and cripples and disables the same; it's also responsible for more than 52 million lost workdays. In addition, every year more than one-million people suffer heart attacks and 600,000 suffer strokes, a large percentage of both proving fatal. However, Dr. Manger is convinced these statistics can be reduced.

Inspired by the decrease in the incidence of heart attack and stroke, Manger saw that with improved medical management and healthy lifestyle changes, hypertension could be controlled and its complications minimized or prevented. He believes a close patient-doctor relationship and a clear understanding of what hypertension is and how to manage it is essential for bringing it under control and minimizing the risk of further health complications.

Even though Manger is positive overall about statistics, still there is room for improvement: nearly 30% of people suffering from hypertension go undiagnosed and only 27% of the 50 million people with this condition have their blood pressure under control. 101 Questions & Answers About Hypertension seeks to reduce the statistical gap by giving readers a comprehensive understanding of hypertension so they are able to knowledgeably communicate with their doctors and make informed decisions and choices to improve their health and reduce health risk.

Dr. Manger received his Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in 1944 and his medi-cal degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1946. Between 1950-1955 he was a Fellow in Medicine at Mayo and obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1958. He received the Mayo Foundation Alumni Award for Meritorious Research in 1955 for his work on the quantitation of epinephrine and norepinephrine in plasma. Since 1958 he has per-formed research in areas including: hemorrhagic shock, hypertension, sympatho-adrenal res-ponses, pheochromocytoma, the mechanism of salt-induced hypertension, and the growth of tu-mor cells.

Dr. Manger has served in the Department of Medicine as Professor of Clinical Medicine at New York University Medical Center since 1983. He is a Lecturer in Medicine (Emeritus) at Colum-bia Medical School. In 1992 he was designated Distinguished Mayo Foundation Alumnus in recognition of his exceptional national and international research, medical practice, and education in hypertension. In 2009 he was awarded the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association Humanitarian Award for his exceptional contributions, dedication and achievements in improving public health, particularly as a true pioneer in the prevention of childhood obesity, one of the single greatest threats to health in this country.

Dr. Manger has a lifelong history of emphasizing the civic message of prevention as the first course of action with chronic illnesses. In 1977, he founded the National Hypertension Associa-tion, gradually building up an impressive board of trustees and contributors. Seven years ago, when obesity in children came to the forefront, he and his wife established VITAL? (Value Initi-ative Teaching About Lifestyle) as a humanitarian health measure. The primary purpose of VI-TAL is to educate children--preschool to third grade--in the prevention of unhealthy lifestyles.

Under his leadership NHA has conducted groundbreaking research on hypertension, and he has written and co-authored five medical books and more than 240 scientific publications.

Throughout his career as basic researcher and tertiary care clinician, Dr. Manger has chosen to devote his time, resources and unbridled energy to improve lives--especially of the underserved and those yet to be served --which are the reasons the Mayo brothers established Mayo Clinic.

Norman M. Kaplan, MD, MACP

Dr. Kaplan is Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas where he has been on the faculty for more than forty years. For the last twenty, his teaching, writing and research have focused primarily upon clinical aspects of hyper-tension. He has lectured extensively and contributed over 500 papers to the medical literature. The tenth edition of his textbook, Kaplan's Clinical Hypertension, will be published in 2010. He was a member of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Joint National Committees on Detection, Eval-uation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. He has been made a Master of the American Col-lege of Physicians, given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Heart Association's Council for High Blood Pressure Research, and received the Stevo Julius Award for Leadership in Medical Communication presented by the International Society of Hypertension. He served on the Executive Committees of the American Society of Hypertension and the AHA Council for High Blood Pressure Research. He is involved as either editor or reviewer with most of the jour-nals which publish papers in the hypertension arena.

Ray W. Gifford, Jr., MD

The late Ray W. Gifford, Jr., MD (1923-2004), was Past President of the National Hypertension Association and Past Chairman, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension at the Cleveland Clinic. He served as Chairman of the Fifth Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of Hypertension (JNC V) in 1991-92. He had also been a member of the Coordinating Committee of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of the Na-tional Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute since 1980. Dr. Gifford was the author of over 450 scientific papers and served on the editorial boards of many journals including the Journal of Cardiovascular Risk; Hypertension Research--Clinical and Experimental; Stroke; and the American Journal of Cardiology. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the lifetime Achievement Award in Hypertension from the Council on High Blood Pressure Research of the American Heart Association. In 1993, the Ray W. Gifford, Jr., MD endowed chair in hypertension was established at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. In 1997, he was inducted into the Medical Hall of Fame of Cleveland, Ohio.

Edward J. Roccella, PhD, MPH

Edward Roccella received his Bachelor of Science degree from East Tennessee State University. He continued his education at the University of Michigan and earned a Master of Public Health and Doctor of Philosophy degree in health education and health behavior. Former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Wilbur Cohen served as an advisor and a member of his disserta-tion committee. Dr. Roccella began his professional career as Director of Continuing Education at the University of Pittsburgh Regional Medical Program and as an Instructor in Community Medicine. Subsequently, he became an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Medi-cal School and School of Public Health. Since 1978 he has worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland as Coordinator of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP). In this position he directed the NHBPEP public, patient and professional activities, which have been cited to improve the nation's hypertension profile and contributed to the nation's large decline in cardiovascular disease. As NHBPEP Coordinator, he organized 45 professional, voluntary and official organizations into one body, which developed national clini-cal guidelines for prevention and treatment of hypertension, the Joint National Committee re-ports. He has led United States scientific exchange delegations regarding the prevention and treatment of hypertension to Brazil, Germany, Egypt and Jordan. Dr. Roccella has authored 107 publications in scientific journals and textbooks dealing with prevention and control of high blood pressure, patient education, public health approaches to improving cardiovascular health and evaluating large-scale public health programs. He is a past president of the Society for Public Health Education; a former member of the American Public Health Association Governing Council, and serves as a referee for several national and international scientific and medical journals. The Federal Republic of Germany, the Egyptian Ministry of health, and the Brazilian Ministry of health have recognized his contributions to hypertension prevention and control. Dr. Roccella has been awarded the National Institutes of Health Directors Award, the HealthTrac Foundation Prize, the University of Michigan John Romani Prize for lifetime achievement in public health administration, the American Society of Hypertension Presidents Award, the Inter-national Society of Hypertension in Blacks Presidential Award, the Society for Public Health Education Distinguished Fellow, and the 2008 Senator Frank Laughtenberg Award. He retired from the National Institutes of Health in 2007 and remains active in the cardiovascular disease prevention and control field and serves on the Medical/Public Health Advisory Boards of four national professional and advocacy organizations.