The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised fresh alarm over the global impact of uncontrolled hypertension, warning that the condition kills more than 10 million people every year despite being both preventable and treatable.
In its second Global Hypertension Report released on Tuesday at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, WHO revealed that more than 1.4 billion people worldwide were living with hypertension in 2024.
Disturbingly, only one in five had their blood pressure under control, either through medication or lifestyle changes.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, described hypertension as a “silent killer” and one of the leading causes of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and dementia. He noted that every hour, over 1,000 lives are lost to strokes and heart attacks linked to high blood pressure.
“Countries have the tools to change this narrative,” Ghebreyesus said. “With political will, sustained investment, and reforms to integrate hypertension care into health services, millions of lives can be saved.”
The report highlighted that only 28% of low-income countries had all WHO-recommended hypertension medicines available in pharmacies or primary care facilities, compared to 93% of high-income nations.
This gap, WHO warned, leaves vulnerable populations at greater risk.
From 2011 to 2025, cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, are projected to cost low- and middle-income countries around $3.7 trillion roughly 2% of their combined GDP.
Dr. Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Philanthropies stressed the urgency of scaling up awareness campaigns, screening, and treatment access.
“Strong policies that expand access to affordable medicines are critical to reducing cardiovascular disease and preventable deaths,” she said.
The report also shared success stories. Bangladesh, for instance, increased hypertension control in some regions from 15% to 56% between 2019 and 2025 by embedding hypertension treatment into its essential health services.
South Korea has achieved a 59% national control rate through reforms that reduced costs of medications and patient fees.
WHO urged governments to integrate hypertension care into universal health coverage (UHC) reforms, strengthen supply chains for essential medicines, and invest in primary health care.
Dr. Tom Frieden, President of Resolve to Save Lives, emphasized: “Safe, effective, low-cost medicines exist, but far too many people can’t access them. Closing that gap will save millions of lives and billions of dollars annually.”
With 99 countries still recording national hypertension control rates below 20%, WHO warned that failure to act would deepen health inequalities and economic strain.
However, the organisation insisted that with urgent reforms, millions of premature deaths could be prevented.
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