The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that uncontrolled high blood pressure could put over 1.4 billion people at risk of premature death.
According to the WHO’s second Global Hypertension Report, released on September 23, 2025, 1.4 billion people lived with hypertension in 2024, yet only one in five have their condition under control. Hypertension is a leading cause of heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and dementia.
The report highlights major gaps in hypertension prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care. Key barriers include weak health promotion policies, limited access to validated blood pressure devices, lack of standardized treatment protocols, and trained primary care teams. Other barriers are unreliable supply chains and costly medicines, inadequate financial protection for patients, and insufficient information systems to monitor trends.
The WHO report shows that only 28% of low-income countries report that all WHO-recommended hypertension medicines are generally available in pharmacies or primary care facilities. This is in stark contrast to 93% of high-income countries. The report explores the barriers and strategies for improving access to hypertension medication through better regulatory systems, pricing and reimbursement, procurement and supply chain management, and improved prescribing and dispensing of these medicines.
The economic burden of uncontrolled high blood pressure is significant. Cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, are projected to cost low- and middle-income countries approximately $3.7 trillion from 2011 to 2025, equivalent to around 2% of their combined GDP. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, emphasized that 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.”
Some countries have made significant progress in controlling hypertension. Bangladesh increased hypertension control from 15% to 56% in some regions between 2019-2025 by embedding hypertension treatment services in its essential health service package. The Philippines has effectively incorporated the WHO’s HEARTS technical package into community-level services nationwide. South Korea has achieved a high rate of blood pressure control nationally (59% in 2022) through integrated health reforms.
The WHO is calling on all countries to embed hypertension control in universal health coverage reforms. Implementing the measures recommended in the report could prevent millions of premature deaths and ease the massive social and economic toll of uncontrolled high blood pressure. By taking action, countries can save lives and reduce the economic burden of hypertension.
