Hypertension Cases Skyrocket – Mostly in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Hypertension cases have increased to 1.28 billion in 30 years and millions of people are living with untreated hypertension.

 

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The number of adults around the world with hypertension has almost doubled from 650 million to 1.28 billion in 30 years – and nearly half these people don’t know they have hypertension, a new study published in The Lancet has found.

The study, which is the first comprehensive global analysis of trends in hypertension prevalence, detection, treatment, and control also found that more than one billion people with high blood pressure  — 82% of hypertension patients in the world — lived in low- and middle-income countries in 2019.

The international study, led by researchers from Imperial College London and the World Health Organization (WHO), analysed blood pressure measurements from 104 million people in the 30 to 79 age group and was taken over three decades in 184 countries.

“Despite medical and pharmacological advances over decades, global progress in hypertension management has been slow, and the vast majority of people with hypertension remain untreated, with large disadvantages in low- and middle-income countries,” lead author of the study Professor Majid Ezzati, Imperial College London, UK, said.

“Our analysis has revealed good practice in diagnosing and treating hypertension, not just in high-income countries but also in middle-income countries. These successes show that preventing high blood pressure and improving its detection, treatment, and control are feasible across low- and middle-income settings if international donors and national governments commit to addressing this major cause of disease and death.”

Hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for high blood pressure. It is directly linked to more than 8.5 million deaths worldwide each year and is the leading risk factor for strokes, ischaemic heart disease, other vascular diseases, and renal disease.

Lowering blood pressure can cut the number of strokes by 35%-40%, heart attacks by 20%-25%, and heart failure by around 50%.

The study found that globally, the number of adults aged 30 to 79 with hypertension jumped from an estimated 331 million women and 317 million men in 1990 to 626 million women and 652 million men in 2019.

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