British & Irish Hypertension Society (BIHS) Response to the WHO Global Report on Hypertension 2025

24 September 2025 (Last updated: 30 Oct 2025 12:20)

The British & Irish Hypertension Society (BIHS) welcomes the publication of the World Health Organisation’s Global Report on Hypertension 2025: High Stakes – Turning Evidence into Action. The report confirms what BIHS has long warned: uncontrolled hypertension is the silent threat undermining health, driving millions of avoidable deaths from stroke, heart attack, kidney disease and dementia.

For the United Kingdom, the findings are sobering:

• Around 12.6 million adults aged 30–79 live with hypertension, nearly 1 in 3 adults.
• 65% are diagnosed and 55% treated, yet only 35% achieve control, leaving over 8 million people at risk.
• The UK has no national target for hypertension control, despite hypertension being the leading modifiable risk factor for premature mortality.

Hypertension prevention and control must now be recognised as a cornerstone of the UK’s health reform agenda. Delivering on the government’s 10-Year Plan – shifting care from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention – depends on tackling blood pressure.

BIHS calls for urgent action in 5 areas:

1. Prevention first. Blood pressure checks must be a routine feature of every health encounter – in GP practices, pharmacies, workplaces, and community settings – ensuring early detection and intervention. Population-level measures such as salt reduction, healthy diets, physical activity, and obesity prevention are essential.

2. Targets and accountability. The UK must establish national hypertension control targets, with clear monitoring and accountability, to drive progress in diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.

3. Investing in the workforce. Tackling hypertension requires both breadth and depth in the workforce. Primary care and community teams need training, support, and validated devices, with task-sharing, digital tools, and the integration of pharmacists and community health workers to extend reach. At the same time, the UK has only around 70 hypertension specialists – far fewer than for other common conditions such as stroke or heart disease. Expanding this specialist capacity is vital to improve care for complex cases, strengthen research, and train the next generation..

5. Digital innovation. Validated devices, wearables, and digital health tools must be integrated into care, replacing outdated analogue systems and empowering patients to take ownership of their blood pressure.

6. Equity and inclusion. Hypertension disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities. Tackling inequalities must be central to the UK’s strategy, ensuring prevention and treatment reach those most at risk.

BIHS stands ready to work with government, the NHS, Blood Pressure UK and partners to make hypertension control a central pillar of the UK’s prevention-first strategy. With political will and investment, millions of lives can be saved, NHS pressures reduced, and the UK placed at the forefront of global progress.

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