Kevin Samuels, a YouTuber who died in May aged 53, allegedly passed away as a result of hypertension according to news reports.
Celebrity news site TMZ claims to have seen a report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgia that refers to hypertension as the cause of death. The report also allegedly states that Samuels had been taking medication used to treat the condition. E! News also said it had obtained an autopsy report referring to hypertension.
However, as of early Tuesday morning EDT there appeared to be no new press report on the Fulton County Medical Examiners website. A May 6 press release acknowledged the death of someone named Kevin Samuels at the age of 53 on May 5, but lists the cause and manner of death as “pending”. Newsweek has contacted Fulton County Medical Examiners for comment.
Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure—a condition which affects nearly half of all adults in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Blood pressure is measured using units called millimeters of mercury (mmHG) and is split into two figures: systolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats; and diastolic pressure, which measures the pressure between beats.
High blood pressure is defined by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association as blood pressure that is at or above 130/80 mmHG, the CDC states.
Hypertension stage 2 is indicated when this figure increases to 140/90 mmHG or higher, and a hypertensive crisis is when blood pressure readings exceed 180/120 mmHG.
High blood pressure is dangerous because it increases the risk of several diseases such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and vision loss. Blood pressure that is high for too long can cause damage to blood vessels.
Treatment for high blood pressure will depend on which stage the patient is at. In the first stage, doctors are likely to prescribe lifestyle changes and might also prescribe blood pressure medication to reduce the risk of a related disease like stroke or heart attack, according to the American Heart Association.
In the second stage, doctors are more likely to prescribe a combination of both medicine and lifestyle changes.
If someone is defined as experiencing a hypertensive crisis, then this requires immediate medical attention.
Severity aside, there are two main types of high blood pressure depending on the cause. Primary hypertension tends to develop gradually over many years and for many adults there’s no identifiable cause.
Secondary hypertension tends to appear suddenly and can be caused by obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disease, thyroid problems, certain medicines, and more.
Generally, risk factors for high blood pressure include being overweight, not being physically active, using tobacco, eating too much salt, eating too little potassium and drinking too much alcohol according to the Mayo Clinic.
Its risk also increases with age, while high blood pressure is particularly common among people of African heritage and also tends to run in families.
In 2020, more than 670,000 deaths in the U.S. had hypertension as a primary or contributing cause, the CDC states.
