Where does the UK rank in the largest worldwide study of high blood pressure?

And what to do if you suffer from it

Sphygmomanometer and stethoscope being used by doctor to measure female patient's blood pressure
Science Photo Library - IAN HOOTONGetty Images

A new study by Imperial College London reveals that the number of people with high blood pressure has nearly doubled in 40 years, taking the total to 1.13 billion worldwide.

The largest study of its kind

Funded by the Wellcome Trust, this is the largest ever study of its kind, involving the World Health Organization and hundreds of scientists throughout the world, incorporating blood pressure measurements from nearly 20 million people.

The team studied changes in blood pressure in every country in the world between 1975 and 2015.

The findings, published in the journal The Lancet, showed that while blood pressure has dropped sharply in high-income countries, it has risen in many low and middle-income countries, especially those in Africa and South Asia.

What about the UK?

In some good news, the UK was found to be the European country with the lowest proportion of people with high blood pressure in 2015. Although figures show that 16 million people in the UK have high blood pressure.

The research also revealed men had higher blood pressure than women in most countries in the world in 2015.

In the UK last year, 18% of men and 12% of women suffered from high blood pressure - making the UK 195th in the world for men (6th lowest), and 194th for women (7th lowest). Compare this to 40 years ago, where 38% of UK men and 28% of UK women had high blood pressure, meaning men ranked 48th in the world (153rd lowest) and women at 96th in the world (105th lowest).

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And the rest of the world?

The top five countries with the highest proportion of men with high blood pressure in 2015 were all in Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovenia). In these countries, nearly 40% of men had high blood pressure.

Overall, the five countries with the lowest proportion of people with high blood pressure in last year were South Korea, USA, Canada, Peru, and Singapore.

The study showed that much of the rise in the number of people with high blood pressure over the last 40 years is also due to a larger, and older, world population.

Interactive maps and individual country data are available at the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration website.

What have the experts said?

Julie Ward, Blood Pressure Manager at the British Heart Foundation, said:

"These statistics are shocking. There are 16 million people living with high blood pressure in the UK alone but it's clear this is a global problem that is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes around the world.

"These findings remind us that people living in deprived areas are at a much greater risk of having high blood pressure. And we remain greatly concerned that almost half of all people with high blood pressure in the UK are unaware of their condition and remain undiagnosed. These people are at major risk of a sudden heart attack or stroke but are unlikely to be taking any action to reduce that deadly risk.

"The BHF has set up a Blood Pressure Programme aimed at achieving better prevention, detection and control of the condition. We are also working with UK-wide partners, including Public Health England, to help those at greatest risk of high blood pressure get the support they need to understand and take control of their condition."

Steps to reduce your high blood pressure

If you're told you have high blood pressure by a GP, lifestyle changes are the first port of call and you may be encouraged to:

    If your blood pressure remains high, or reads particularly high, a doctor may prescribe medication.

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