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Exercise as a Factor in Reducing Mild Hypertension Introduction Every year about fifty million Americans suffer from hypertension (Stevens & Glass, 2001). High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. High blood pressure or hypertension usually does not cause any symptoms until there is serious physical damage done to the body. This is why it is often referred to as the “silent killer”. It is important to diagnose high blood pressure before it causes the body harm. Heart pumping blood through the arteries puts pressure on the artery walls. Hypertension occurs when blood pressure stays elevated overtime. This increased pressure on the heart puts a strain on the circulatory system and can lead to serious problems. Some of these problems include stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. More than 2,600 people die of heart disease every day, which means one cardiovascular death every 33 seconds (Steffen, Sherwood, Gullette, Georgiades, Hinderliter & Blumenthal, 2001). High blood pressure can be caused by a number of factors such as cigarette smoking, diabetes,