Primary prevention of hypertension: a challenge for occupational health nurses.

1. About one in four adults in the United States has high blood pressure on the basis of a single evaluation. Hypertension is associated with an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, renal insufficiency, and peripheral vascular disease. 2. Weight loss, reduced sodium intake, reduced alcohol consumption, and exercise have documented efficacy as interventions to decrease high blood pressure. A number of intervention programs in community based settings and in health care provider practice based settings have documented that behavioral change and relevant reductions in blood pressure are feasible. 3. Occupational health nurses are in unique positions to both initiate and support intervention programs. Interventions could be conducted by individual occupational health nurses as well as sponsored by corporate employers or local occupational health nursing constituencies.