Australia Reports Widespread High Blood Pressure, Low Awareness

CANBERRA, May 15 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Consistently high blood pressure affects nearly two in five Australian adults, with many unaware of their condition, according to a government report released on Friday, reported Xinhua.

The "Hypertension in Australia" report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that 39 per cent of Australians aged 18 and over, about 7.2 million people, had hypertension in 2022, with similar rates among men and women.

Prevalence of high blood pressure rises sharply with age, affecting around 85 per cent of those aged 75 and above, as well as 39 per cent of people aged 45-54 and 57 per cent of those aged 55-64, said AIHW spokesperson Heidi Dietz.

Despite its scale, hypertension often goes undetected.

Almost 63 per cent of affected adults did not self-report the condition, suggesting many cases remain undiagnosed, the report said, adding that only about 40 per cent of those with hypertension had it under control while receiving medication.

Untreated high blood pressure increases the risk of chronic conditions, including stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and dementia, Dietz warned.

Hypertension contributed to about 24,700 deaths in 2023, accounting for 13 per cent of all deaths nationwide.

It is also the fourth leading modifiable risk factor in Australia's overall disease burden, the report showed.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA