Men with high blood pressure and low fitness had a more than doubled risk of cardiovascular death compared to those with normal blood pressure and high fitness (HR 2.35; 95% CI 1.81-3.04).

And high blood pressure can be fatal if left untreated. Hypertension is a primary or contributing cause of more than 691,000 deaths in the US in 2021, according to the CDC.

High blood pressure can raise the risk of heart attack, stroke, pregnancy complications and other health problems, but the symptoms are “often silent,” Dr. Wadhera said. “I worry it flies ...