Description

For sample adults who were ever advised by a doctor or other health professional to cut down on salt or sodium in their diet to lower their high blood pressure (HYPSALTADV), HYPSALTFOL reports responses to the follow-up question, "Did you ever follow this advice?"
Only sample adults who were ever told that they had high blood pressure (except only during pregnancy) (HYPERTENEV and HYPPREG) were asked about medical advice they had received about lowering their blood pressure. Those who acknowledged ever following such advice to cut down on salt or sodium in their diet to lower their high blood pressure were also asked whether they were currently following such advice (HYPSALTNOW).

According to the 2003 Field Representative's Manual, these questions were part of a supplement on heart disease and stroke sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. This supplement was "meant to assess whether a person has received advice from his or her doctor as to how to control high blood pressure, whether the person is currently following that advice, and whether that person has ever followed that advice."

Additional questions included in this supplement address receiving and following advice to make other behavioral changes to lower blood pressure, specifically:

• HYPALCADV

• HYPALCFOL

• HYPALCNOW

• HYPDIETADV

• HYPDIETFOL

• HYPDIETNOW

• HYPEXERADV

• HYPEXERFOL

• HYPEXERNOW

• HYPMEDEV

• HYPMEDNOW

• HYPMEDQUIT

Comparability

This variable is only available in 2003.

Universe

Availability

• 1985, 1990, 1998, 2003, 2008

Weights

• 1985, 1990, 1998, 2003, 2008 : SAMPWEIGHT