“Every hour, more than 1 000 lives are cut short by strokes and heart attacks linked to high blood pressure. Lives that could have been saved,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.

Most people with hypertension feel fine, until they don’t. A stroke that robs someone of speech, a heart attack on the job, or kidney failure seemingly without warning. These are among the hidden dangers of hypertension, currently affecting more than one in four adults in the Western Pacific, a region of 38 countries and areas with over 2.2 billion people.

On World Heart Day today, WHO is highlighting hypertension as the leading risk factor for premature death and a condition that can no longer be ignored. Often called a silent killer, hypertension is the most common, yet most preventable health threats worldwide.

Too often, people learn of hypertension only after it’s too late, even though simple and regular blood pressure checks and largely affordable medicines could save literally millions of lives.

The new Global Hypertension Report 2025, released by WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Resolve to Save Lives at the recent High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases at the United Nations General Assembly, shows that 1.4 billion people lived with hypertension in 2024 – but fewer than one in five had it under control.

“Every hour, more than 1 000 lives are cut short by strokes and heart attacks linked to high blood pressure. Lives that could have been saved,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.

“The tools to prevent these deaths already exist. With political commitment, investment, and by embedding hypertension control into primary health care, countries in our Region can change the course of this ‘silent killer’ and move closer to universal health coverage.”

 In the Western Pacific, 28% of adults, almost one in three, live with hypertension. But of those, only 22% - one in five - have it under control. In some Pacific Island countries, control rates are below 5%. By contrast, the Republic of Korea has achieved 59% control, proving that progress is possible with sustained investment and strong primary health care.

A preventable burden with huge costs

Unchecked hypertension cuts lives short, devastates families and strains already-stretched health systems.

The economic toll is enormous: cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, are projected to have cost low- and middle-income countries US$ 3.7 trillion between 2011 and 2025.

Yet experts stress that hypertension is among the easiest conditions to prevent and control with the right tools, policies and financing.

Regional solutions

Countries across the Western Pacific Region are proving that progress is possible:

• The Philippines has rolled out WHO’s HEARTS package in community clinics, doubling the number of patients with controlled blood pressure in demonstration areas.
• Viet Nam and Cambodia have trained frontline health workers to routinely check blood pressure, diagnose early, and manage uncomplicated cases.
• Fiji and other Pacific Island countries are expanding nurse-led and community-based care, bringing services closer to people.
• Mongolia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic have introduced national treatment protocols for consistency across health facilities.
• China and Vanuatu are testing digital tools and telemedicine so patients in remote areas can manage their condition without long, costly travel.