The use of blood pressure drugs increased from 7% to over 8% in 2006, which means about 8.5 million people in the United States in that same age group are using blood pressure medicines.

Both drugs help to reduce the incident of strokes and heart attacks.

Analysis of the data tends to indicate two reasons for this rise in the use of such drugs: (1) higher rates of high blood press and high cholesterol due primarily to higher rates of obesity in the United States and (2) higher use of preventive techniques by doctors in the United States.

When shown the resulting percentages, according to an Associated Press article, Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Medco, stated, "It was a surprise to us. Maybe the fact that we're seeing more young people with high cholesterol and blood pressure is indicative of the epidemic of obesity and overweight that we're seeing in this country."

Medco Health Solutions is a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) company based in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, United States.

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