A new study<\/a> involving around 1.4 million adults in England, found that 37% had hypertension (high blood pressure). Of those, 59% had not previously been diagnosed and were not taking blood-pressure-lowering drugs. The research used blood pressure measurements collected from adults recruited between 2022 and 2025 to Our Future Health<\/a>, the UK\u2019s largest health research programme.<\/p>\n Hypertension became increasingly common with age, rising from 15% among 18- to 39- year-olds to 71% among people aged 80 years and over. After adjusting for age, it was also considerably more common in men than in women: 42% compared with 29%, respectively. <\/p>\n Finding hypertension is only part of the problem. Among participants already taking blood-pressure-lowering medication, half still had high blood pressure.<\/p>\n It is worth noting that these figures apply to the study population in England, not the whole of the UK. Our Future Health is also a huge volunteer research group, rather than a randomly selected, nationally representative sample. The exact percentages should therefore be interpreted with some caution. Still, the sheer scale of the study makes the central finding difficult to ignore: large numbers of adults are living with potentially important dangerous high blood pressure without knowing it.<\/p>\n Silent killer<\/p>\n Hypertension is often called a silent killer, and for a good reason. Most people with it experience no symptoms<\/a> and feel perfectly well. That is precisely what makes finding it difficult. <\/p>\n Persistently raised pressure gradually damages blood vessels and places strain on the heart and other organs. Left untreated, it increases the risk<\/a> of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and vascular dementia. This creates an unusual healthcare problem. We have a common condition that is straightforward to detect, for which effective lifestyle changes and medication already exist, but which gives most people little immediate reason to seek medical attention. <\/p>\n Since 2021, NHS England has operated a Community Pharmacy Hypertension Case-Finding Service<\/a>. Participating pharmacies can offer free blood pressure measurements to people aged 40 years and over who have not previously been diagnosed with hypertension. This makes enormous sense. Pharmacies are embedded within communities, and people visit them for prescriptions and everyday healthcare advice without needing a GP appointment.<\/p>\n Given this, why are we still missing so many people? Part of the answer may be surprisingly simple: people still have to take up the offer.<\/p>\n An NHS England survey<\/a> of adults aged over 40 found that 44% were unaware they could get a free pharmacy blood pressure check. Even more (59%) didn\u2019t realise they could have one without an appointment. And 17% of people who had not recently had their blood pressure measured said they had avoided doing so because they did not feel unhealthy or stressed. <\/p>\n There is another potential reason for the gap. Routine pharmacy blood pressure testing primarily targets adults aged 40 years and over. Yet the new study found hypertension in more than 15% of adults aged 18 to 39 years. Previous research has also suggested that younger men with hypertension may be particularly likely to remain undiagnosed<\/a>. <\/p>\n Also, with the use and ease of the NHS app, and online pharmacy dispensing and direct-to-door delivery, many patients do not attend a pharmacy to collect their medicines.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t wait for people to ask<\/p>\n Perhaps the solution is to stop treating blood pressure measurement as something people have to actively request. Instead, it could become a routine part of everyday encounters with healthcare.<\/p>\n Collecting a repeat prescription? Ask to have your blood pressure checked. Having a vaccination or health review? Check it.<\/p>\n A lot of people aren\u2019t aware that they can get their blood pressure checked for free at their high street pharmacy. Further testing could involve dentists, optometrists, physiotherapy, osteopathy or chiropractic clinics, workplaces and community settings. NHS England\u2019s pharmacy service already allows referrals from GPs and other healthcare professionals, including dentists and optometrists<\/a>. <\/p>\n Taking blood pressure testing to people rather than waiting for people to come looking for it should become the new norm.<\/p>\n Home monitoring has an important role too. However, people should be aware that one raised measurement does not automatically mean someone has hypertension. Blood pressure fluctuates significantly throughout the day and can be influenced by activity, stress and the circumstances in which it is measured.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/file-20260925-50-6msz74.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Krakenimages\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/p>\n