High blood pressure could be the world’s next pandemic – WHO warns
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised alarm over the devastating impact of uncontrolled hypertension, warning that it kills more than 10 million people every year.
In its second Global Hypertension Report, released on Tuesday during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, WHO disclosed that about 1.4 billion people worldwide were living with high blood pressure in 2024.
Shockingly, just over one in five had the condition under control, either through medication or lifestyle adjustments.
The report, co-hosted with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Resolve to Save Lives, revealed that only 28 percent of low-income countries had all WHO-recommended hypertension medicines available in primary healthcare facilities.
Hypertension, a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and dementia, remains preventable and treatable. However, without urgent intervention, WHO warned that millions of people will continue to die prematurely while economies, especially in low- and middle-income countries, suffer significant financial losses. From 2011 to 2025 alone, cardiovascular diseases—including hypertension—are projected to cost these countries an estimated $3.7 trillion, about 2 percent of their combined GDP.
“Every hour, more than 1,000 lives are lost to strokes and heart attacks caused by high blood pressure, and most of these deaths are preventable,” said WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.
Dr. Kelly Henning, who leads the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Health Program, stressed the need for stronger policies. “Uncontrolled high blood pressure claims more than 10 million lives every year, despite being both preventable and treatable. Expanding access to treatment is critical to reducing cardiovascular disease and premature deaths,” she said.
The report highlighted major barriers to hypertension control, including weak health promotion policies, limited access to validated blood pressure devices, costly medicines, inadequate financial protection for patients, and poor monitoring systems.
Still, some countries have made progress. Bangladesh increased hypertension control from 15 to 56 percent in certain regions by embedding treatment in essential health services. The Philippines has rolled out WHO’s HEARTS package nationwide, while South Korea achieved a 59 percent control rate in 2022 by making treatment affordable and accessible.
