Managing high blood pressure could prevent >500K CVD deaths annually in 20 countries, reveals research

Effective management of high blood pressure could prevent more than 518,000 annual deaths from cardiovascular disease around the world, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026. The meeting is in Arlington, Virginia, October 7-11, 2026, and is the premier scientific exchange focused on recent advances in basic and clinical research on high blood pressure and its relationship to cardiac and kidney disease, stroke, obesity and genetics.

Untreated high blood pressure can cause blood vessel damage including narrowing of the arteries and aneurysm, and lead to many heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, enlarged left heart and metabolic syndrome. High blood pressure is the most prevalent and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and can affect adults in all age groups. Based on the American Heart Association’s 2025 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, the treatment goal for adults with hypertension is less than 130/80 mm Hg.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are responsible for roughly three out of five deaths globally, and approximately 73% of these deaths occur in low- or middle-income countries. CVD accounts for more of these deaths than other chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory illnesses.

“In this study, we analyzed existing data to assess if expanding use of NCD preventive healthcare services across 20 countries worldwide could reduce cardiovascular death. We found that expanding treatment of high blood pressure to more people prevented the most deaths, followed by more broad use of statin medications for high cholesterol and managing blood sugar in people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes,” said Scott Pilla, M.D., M.H.S., an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “While there were substantial gaps in the use of preventive healthcare services for these conditions in all countries, lower-middle-income countries had large opportunities for improvement, with low rates of hypertension control and high cholesterol management and minimal use of cancer screening tests.”

What are the study’s key findings?

• The modeling analysis estimated that when preventive care services were increased across the 20 upper- and lower-middle income countries in the study, from current levels to match the levels in high-performing U.S. health systems—approximately 80% of eligible patients—the study found that hypertension control, treatment with statins when indicated, and glucose control could prevent 518,476; 340,682; and 309,520 annual cardiovascular deaths, respectively. Increasing colon cancer screening to 80% could prevent 206,767 colon cancer-related deaths each year.
• Improving blood pressure control prevented the greatest number of deaths out of any preventive service, especially in upper-middle-income countries (223,282 annual deaths) and lower-middle-income countries (223,655 annual deaths).
• The modeling estimates found that only about one in five adults with hypertension in the 20 studied countries had blood pressure controlled (lower than 140/90 mm Hg). Similarly, 16% of individuals with high cholesterol levels use statins; 39% with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes had blood sugar below optimal levels; and 14%-26% underwent routinely indicated cancer screenings.
• Among cancer screening modalities, colon cancer screening prevented the most deaths, followed by cervical and breast cancer screening, respectively.

“This modeling analysis offers important information on the potential global impact of high blood pressure and, importantly, the opportunity to, with treatment, reduce the number of deaths due to high blood pressure-related conditions. Previous research has confirmed that following the evidence-based recommendations in the latest guideline can reduce the risk of death from high blood pressure and also reduce the risk of other serious conditions, such as heart failure, stroke and dementia,” said Chair of the American Heart Association’s 2025 guideline writing committee Daniel W. Jones, M.D., FAHA . “Treatment of high blood pressure to goal leads to longer lives and also healthier lives. This study should inspire clinicians and patients to give more attention to appropriate management of high blood pressure using both lifestyle measures and medication.” Jones, who was not involved in this study, is also a past volunteer president of the American Heart Association (2007-2008) and is dean and professor emeritus of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, Mississippi.

Reference:

Managing high blood pressure could prevent >500K CVD deaths annually in 20 countries, American Heart Association, Meeting: American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2026.