By Deborah Nnamdi
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised alarm over the growing global threat of uncontrolled high blood pressure, warning that more than 1.4 billion people are at risk of premature death.
The warning was contained in WHO’s second Global Hypertension Report, released on Tuesday at an event co-hosted by WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Resolve to Save Lives during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.
According to the report, while 1.4 billion people were living with hypertension in 2024, only about one in five had the condition under control—either through medication or by addressing lifestyle-related risks.
Hypertension remains a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and dementia. Without urgent action, WHO said millions of preventable deaths would occur annually, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the brunt of the crisis.
The report estimates that from 2011 to 2025, cardiovascular diseases—including hypertension—will cost developing countries about US$3.7 trillion, roughly 2 per cent of their combined GDP.
“Every hour, more than 1,000 lives are lost to strokes and heart attacks from high blood pressure, and most of these deaths are preventable,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
“Countries have the tools to change this narrative. With political will, investment, and reforms to embed hypertension control in health services, millions of lives can be saved.”
Dr Kelly Henning, who leads the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health Program, stressed that despite being both preventable and treatable, uncontrolled hypertension still kills more than 10 million people annually.
“Countries that integrate hypertension care into universal health coverage are making progress, but too many low- and middle-income countries are left behind,” she said.
The report found that 99 countries have national hypertension control rates below 20 per cent, with the majority in resource-constrained regions. Barriers include weak health promotion policies, poor access to validated blood pressure devices, limited supply of affordable medicines, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure.
Blood pressure medication is considered one of the most cost-effective public health tools, yet only 28 per cent of low-income countries report availability of all WHO-recommended medicines, compared to 93 per cent of high-income nations.
Dr Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, said closing the treatment gap was both lifesaving and cost-saving.
“Safe, effective, low-cost medicines exist, but far too many people can’t get them. Closing that gap will save lives and billions of dollars every year.”
Despite challenges, the report highlighted success stories. Bangladesh increased hypertension control in some regions from 15 per cent to 56 per cent between 2019 and 2025 by embedding treatment into its essential health package. The Philippines expanded community-level care using WHO’s HEARTS technical package, while South Korea’s reforms—including low-cost medicines and reduced patient fees—helped achieve a 59 per cent national control rate in 2022.
WHO urged all countries to embed hypertension control in universal health coverage reforms, noting that implementing its recommendations could prevent millions of premature deaths and reduce the global economic toll of the condition.
