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Over half of study participants with high blood pressure don\u2019t know they have it.Most people on medication for high blood pressure don\u2019t have it under control.Doctors explain the \u201csilent\u201d presentation of hypertension can contribute to it flying under the radar.<\/p>\n
In 2024, an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide between the ages of 30 and 79 had high blood pressure<\/a>, according to the World Health Organization<\/a>. And that number could be even higher because the condition often comes with no obvious symptoms\u2014meaning folks can have it without realizing it.<\/p>\n In fact, a new study published in the journal BMJ Public Health<\/a> looked at just how prevalent sneaky hypertension can be, and the results are jarring: Over half of participants had high blood pressure without knowing it.<\/p>\n Meet the Experts: Amit Blumfield, M.D.<\/a>, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder.com<\/a>; Lily Johnston, M.D.<\/a>, M.P.H., F.S.V.S., vascular surgeon at Scripps Clinic, founder of CorSight Health<\/a>, and author of the forthcoming book Disconnected; Heather Gosnell, M.D<\/a>., board-certified physician and founder of Eat Plants MD Coach in Phoenix.<\/p>\n In the study, researchers analyzed the health data of 1.4 million English adults to determine the prevalence of hypertension, which they defined as systolic blood pressure (the first number in a reading) greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure (the second number) greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg, or self-reported use of prescription blood pressure meds.<\/p>\n They discovered 37% of the participants met the criteria for high blood pressure\u2014and the condition became more likely with age, especially in men with higher body mass indexes. Perhaps even more staggering? Nearly 59% of the people with high blood pressure didn\u2019t know they had the condition. And just over 50% of hypertensive people who were on medication still didn\u2019t have their numbers under control.<\/p>\n The data is unsettling, but heart health experts aren\u2019t really surprised by it. Here\u2019s what they have to say about the findings, and how to be vigilant about maintaining healthy blood pressure.<\/p>\n Why does high blood pressure go undetected? <\/p>\n Like we mentioned, elevated blood pressure typically doesn\u2019t manifest as physical symptoms that \u201churt\u201d people who have it, explains Lily Johnston<\/a>, M.D., M.P.H., vascular surgeon at Scripps Clinic, founder of CorSight Health<\/a>, and author of the forthcoming book Disconnected. \u201cYou can live at 150\/95 for years and feel fine,\u201d she explains. And symptoms that could be caused by high blood pressure, like headaches<\/a>, anxiety, or dizziness, are nonspecific, so people can often attribute them to other causes.<\/p>\n Why don\u2019t symptoms show? \u201cOur bodies are remarkably good at adapting to conditions that slowly damage blood vessels, so even as the damage builds, we feel fine,\u201d explains Heather Gosnell, M.D<\/a>., board-certified physician and founder of Eat Plants M.D. Coach in Phoenix. \u201cAnd a single elevated reading is often brushed off as nerves.\u201d This is often referred to as white coat syndrome, where a patient\u2019s blood pressure is only elevated at the doctor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n There is also a lack of awareness and education about the importance of regular checkups and at-home blood pressure monitoring, which leaves lots of opportunity for the problem to go unnoticed.<\/p>\n Then even for folks who do monitor at home, there\u2019s also the issue of incorrectly using the at-home blood pressure devices<\/a>, says Amit Blumfield, M.D.<\/a>, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and contributor to LabFinder.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Add Prevention as a preferred source in your Google search results.<\/p>\n Use your Google account to add this to your settings.<\/p>\n Add to Google settings<\/p>\n For an accurate blood pressure reading, keep these steps in mind:<\/p>\n Take your reading when your bladder is empty and you don\u2019t need to pee. Make sure you\u2019re using the correct blood pressure cuff size for your arm and that you\u2019re placing it on bare skin.Rest quietly for five minutes before taking a reading.Maintain proper positioning: Sit upright with your back supported and feet uncrossed on the floor. Uncross your arms and lay the arm you\u2019re using for the reading on a flat surface at the level of your heart. What about slightly elevated blood pressure? Is that still risky?<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly not something to ignore. Dr. Johnston calls hypertension \u201ca slope that starts much lower than most people think.\u201d The numbers can slowly tick up over time and raise your risk for heart disease. After all, high blood pressure makes your heart work harder to pump blood through your veins, and that puts stress on the organ and blood vessels over time.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a vascular surgeon, I see what years of extra pressure do,\u201d says Dr. Johnston. \u201cOver time, the heart wall stiffens, thickens, and scars. In my operating room, that looks like aneurysms, aortic dissections, kidney failure, and vessel blockages. Elsewhere, it\u2019s heart attack<\/a>, stroke, blindness, and, growing evidence suggests, dementia.\u201d<\/p>\n While random, short-lived elevations may happen due to stress or during sleep, \u201cwhat matters most is the average pressure your arteries live with day to day, and that it comes back down after a spike,\u201d Dr. Johnston says.<\/p>\n How to check and maintain healthy blood pressure<\/p>\n The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to measure it, our experts say. No other symptoms are reliable. \u201cFeeling stressed or anxious, or having a fast heart rate<\/a>, doesn\u2019t necessarily mean your blood pressure is up, and you can have a normal reading even when you feel that way,\u201d says Dr. Gosnell.<\/p>\n![\"Google\"](\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/social\/google.1467f37.svg\")
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