As many as 65 million Americans are believed to have high blood pressure and the good news, according to a new report, is that more people with the condition have it under control.

According to HealthDay, a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that half of hypertensive individuals are controlling their condition.

"The good news is that blood pressure control has improved very substantially over the years," said the study’s lead author, Brent Egan, M.D. "It went from 27 percent of all hypertensives to 50 percent, with most of the progress since 2000. Awareness of high blood pressure improved from 69 to 81 percent, and the number of hypertensives on treatment improved from 54 percent to 72 percent."

Egan and his colleagues used data from a series of national health surveys running between 1988 and 2008 for the results. High blood pressure was defined as a reading of 140/90 or higher.

According to the American Heart Association, hypertension increases the risk for heart attack, angina, stroke, kidney failure and peripheral artery disease.

In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent it.