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Lifestyle changes can help lower high blood pressure and can help anyone with hypertension. Many who make these changes will still need to take medicine. 

These lifestyle changes can help prevent and lower high blood pressure. 

Do:

• Eat more vegetables and fruit.
• Sit less.
• Be more physically active, which can include walking, running, swimming, dancing or activities that build strength, like lifting weights.
  • Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity.
  • Do strength building exercises 2 or more days each week.
• Lose weight if you’re overweight or obese.
• Take medicines as prescribed by your health care professional.
• Keep appointments with your health care professional.

Don’t:

• eat too much salty food (try to stay under 2 grams per day)
• eat foods high in saturated or trans fats
• smoke or use tobacco
• drink too much alcohol (1 drink daily max for women, 2 for men)
• miss or share medication.

Reducing hypertension prevents heart attack, stroke and kidney damage, as well as other health problems.

Reduce the risks of hypertension by:

• reducing and managing stress
• regularly checking blood pressure
• treating high blood pressure
• managing other medical conditions.

Complications of uncontrolled hypertension

Among other complications, hypertension can cause serious damage to the heart. Excessive pressure can harden arteries, decreasing the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. This elevated pressure and reduced blood flow can cause:

• chest pain, also called angina;
• heart attack, which occurs when the blood supply to the heart is blocked and heart muscle cells die from lack of oxygen. The longer the blood flow is blocked, the greater the damage to the heart;
• heart failure, which occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to other vital body organs; and
• irregular heart beat which can lead to a sudden death.

Hypertension can also burst or block arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain, causing a stroke.

In addition, hypertension can cause kidney damage, leading to kidney failure.

Hypertension in low- and middle-income countries

The prevalence of hypertension varies across regions and country income groups. The WHO African Region has the highest prevalence of hypertension (27%) while the WHO Region of the Americas has the lowest prevalence of hypertension (18%).

The number of adults with hypertension increased from 594 million in 1975 to 1.13 billion in 2015, with the increase seen largely in low- and middle-income countries. This increase is due mainly to a rise in hypertension risk factors in those populations.

WHO response

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports countries to reduce hypertension as a public health problem.

In 2021, WHO released a new guideline for on the pharmacological treatment of hypertension in adults. The publication provides evidence-based recommendations for the initiation of treatment of hypertension, and recommended intervals for follow-up. The document also includes target blood pressure to be achieved for control, and information on who, in the health-care system, can initiate treatment.

To support governments in strengthening the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease, WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) launched the Global Hearts Initiative in September 2016, which includes the HEARTS technical package. The six modules of the HEARTS technical package (Healthy-lifestyle counselling, Evidence-based treatment protocols, Access to essential medicines and technology, Risk-based management, Team-based care, and Systems for monitoring) provide a strategic approach to improve cardiovascular health in countries across the world.

In September 2017, WHO began a partnership with Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, to support national governments to implement the Global Hearts Initiative. Other partners contributing to the Global Hearts Initiative are the CDC Foundation, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the U.S. CDC. Since implementation of the programme in 2017 in  31 countries low- and middle-income countries, 7.5 million people have been put on protocol-based hypertension treatment through person-centred models of care. These programmes demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of standardized hypertension control programmes.