High blood pressure, dubbed the “silent killer,” doesn’t make you feel any different than does normal blood pressure. This is why many who have hypertension don’t even know it.
Researchers at Oxford Population Health found that many adults in England have high blood pressure without knowing it, while others being treated still do not have their readings under control.
The study used clinic blood pressure measurements from Our Future Health, the UK’s largest health research program. Participants joined between 2022 and 2025.
The findings suggest hypertension remains widely undiagnosed, untreated or inadequately controlled, despite being a major risk factor for stroke, heart disease and premature death.
Researchers followed World Health Organization criteria. Participants were classified as having hypertension if systolic pressure (the “top number”) was at least 140 mmHg, diastolic pressure was at least 90 mmHg, or they were taking blood pressure medication.
The researchers looked at how common hypertension was, whether participants knew they had it, whether they received treatment, and whether treatment lowered their readings.
Overall, 37% of participants met the definition for hypertension.
About 15% of adults 18 to 39 had hypertension, compared with 71% of people 80 or older.
Men were affected more often than women. Age-standardized rates were 42% for men and 29% for women.
Do you know your blood pressure?
Among participants with hypertension, 59% were unaware they had it.
They had never been diagnosed and were not taking blood pressure-lowering medication.
Medication didn’t always bring blood pressure under control.
Half of participants taking hypertension medication still had readings of 140/90 mmHg or higher.
The paper says that the findings match what doctors see in general practice.
This also isn’t limited to the UK. Many people in the U.S. have no idea they have high blood pressure.
Many patients remain undetected or are not treated adequately.
Millions could have undiagnosed hypertension in both the UK and the U.S., as well as elsewhere around the world, as this serious condition typically doesn’t produce symptoms. This doesn’t mean damage isn’t secretly occurring behind the scenes.
High blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is linked to around half of heart attacks and strokes in the UK, says the paper. High BP is also a leading cause of these conditions in the U.S.
As alarmist as all this may sound, there is great news: Hypertension can be reversed through the DASH diet and exercise, and if it’s stubborn, then medication can be prescribed.
