Thanksgiving foods fuel a silent epidemic affecting millions of Americans

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a silent killer that lurks among us, helping to claim millions of lives every year.
According to a new study published in The Lancet, the number of kids under age 19 who have high blood pressure has doubled worldwide since 2000. The rest of the population isn’t faring much better either: In the US, nearly half of Americans have hypertension — twice the rate from a generation ago.
Many Americans, particularly young adults, don’t know they have high blood pressure.