Background: The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC-7)on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure provided a new classificationof blood pressure for adults aged to guide screening and treatment efforts. Material/Methods: Using thenew classification, we examined trends and prevalence of pre-hypertension (120-139/80-89 mm Hg), stage1 hypertension (140-159/90-99 mm Hg), and stage 2 hypertension (>/=160/100 mm Hg) in a nationally representativesample of the United States population. We analyzed 4115 adult persons from 1999 and 2000 National Healthand Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 20,322 persons from NHANES II (1976-1980) and 30,818 personsfrom NHANES III (1988-1992). Results: In the United States population aged 20 or greater, we found thatan estimated 41.9 million men and 27.8 million women have pre-hypertension, 12.8 million men and 12.2million women have stage 1 hypertension, and 4.1 million men and 6.9 million women have stage 2 hypertension.Age- and sex-adjusted rates of pre-hypertension increased among non-Hispanic White, African American,and Hispanic persons between 1988-1992 and 1999-2000. Age- and sex-adjusted rates of stage 1 hypertensionincreased among Hispanics between 1988-1992 and 1999-2000. Age- and sex-adjusted rates of stage 2 hypertensiondecreased among non-Hispanic Whites between 1988-1992 and 1999-2000, but were unchanged for African Americanand Hispanic persons. Conclusions: With over a 100 million persons with pre-hypertension or hypertensionin the United States, a renewed effort directed towards screening, education, and treatment is required,particularly in the Hispanic population.

Keywords: United States - epidemiology, Sex Distribution, Hypertension - physiopathology, Hispanic Americans, Health Surveys, European Continental Ancestry Group, Cohort Studies, Blood Pressure, Aged, 80 and over, Age Distribution, African Americans