High blood pressure -- the Institute of Medicine says it's time we got serious

More and more Americans have uncontrolled high blood pressure -- this despite the fact that there are plenty of medications and lifestyle measures to prevent it or fight it, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Monday.

You can read a story on the report by staff writer Thomas Maugh, right here -- and access the entire Institute of Medicine report here.

Then check out a Feb. 8 package of Health Section stories we ran on just this issue (by freelance writer Karen Ravn) -- what you might expect from changing your diet, boosting your potassium intake, exercising more, drinking less, and how strong the evidence is for each measure.

Ravn also writes about a debate in the hypertension community about what drugs patients should be getting. Many believe the current guidelines followed by physicians are outdated.

--Rosie Mestel

Photo Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / L.A. Times