The headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) is pictured in Geneva [Photo Credit: VOANEWS]

Global health body calls for urgent action on high blood pressure crisis

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that uncontrolled hypertension — persistently high blood pressure is threatening millions of lives and weakening economies worldwide, despite being both preventable and treatable.

Releasing its second Global Hypertension Report at an event co-hosted with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Resolve to Save Lives during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, WHO revealed that 1.4 billion people were living with hypertension in 2024. Yet just over one in five have their blood pressure under control through medication or lifestyle changes.

A major economic burden

WHO projects that between 2011 and 2025, cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, will cost low- and middle-income countries an estimated $3.7 trillion, about two per cent of their combined GDP.

Only 28 per cent of low-income countries have all WHO-recommended hypertension medicines generally available in pharmacies or primary health facilities, compared with 93 per cent of high-income countries.

Leading cause of preventable deaths

Hypertension is a major driver of heart attacks, strokes, chronic kidney disease and dementia. WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said that without stronger political will and sustained investment, millions of lives would be lost.

“Every hour, over 1,000 lives are lost to strokes and heart attacks from high blood pressure, and most of these deaths are preventable,” Mr Ghebreyesus said. “Countries have the tools to change this narrative. With political will, ongoing investment, and reforms to embed hypertension control in health services, we can save millions and ensure universal health coverage for all.”

Kelly Henning, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Health Programme, said uncontrolled hypertension claims more than 10 million lives annually, with many low- and middle-income countries left behind.

Persistent barriers to care

An analysis of 195 countries showed that 99 have national hypertension control rates below 20 per cent. The report identified persistent barriers, including:

• Weak health promotion policies on alcohol, tobacco, diet and physical activity
• Limited access to validated blood pressure devices
• Lack of standardised treatment protocols and trained primary care teams
• Unreliable supply chains and high medicine costs
• Weak systems for monitoring progress

Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, stressed that closing these gaps could save lives and billions of dollars annually.

Examples of progress

Despite the gaps, WHO highlighted countries making strides:

• Bangladesh increased control rates from 15 per cent to 56 per cent in some regions between 2019 and 2025 after embedding treatment services in its essential health package.
• The Philippines rolled out WHO’s HEARTS technical package nationwide.
• South Korea achieved a 59 per cent national control rate by reducing costs for blood pressure medicines and limiting patient fees.