epidemiology

Last edited 09/2019

Prevalence of hypertension is high and continues to increase around the world.

• an estimated 30.2% of the world’s adult population in 2010 had hypertension
• 28.6% in high-income countries and 30.3% in low- and middle-income countries.
• from 2000 to 2010, age-standardized prevalence of hypertension decreased by 2.3% in high-income countries but increased by 6.1% in low- and middle-income countries
• globally, only 47% of the hypertensive population is aware of having high BP
• even in high-income countries 37% is unaware of being hypertensive (1)

In 2015, it was reported that high blood pressure affected more than 1 in 4 adults in England (31% of men; 26% of women) - around 13.5 million people - and contributed to 75,000 deaths (2)

In Western society, hypertension becomes more common with increasing age.

The severity of hypertension is positively correlated with the incidence of cardiovascular complications. Treating hypertension reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Reference:

• (1) van Kleef ME, Spiering W. Hypertension: Overly important but under-controlled. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2017;24(3_suppl):36-43.
• (2) NICE (August 2019). Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management