As many as 16 million people in the UK are estimated to have hypertension, and around 7 million of these are undiagnosed. Of those diagnosed in England, one third are not receiving optimum management. Poor detection and management of hypertension places a significant burden on the NHS, and hypertension-related conditions cost an estimated £2 billion a year. We can change this by raising awareness of the consequences of hypertension, making it simpler to diagnose, and by supporting patients to manage their own health. The benefits of doing this are huge – just a 15% increase in the number of adults in England who have had their hypertension diagnosed would add 7,000 quality adjusted life years and reduce health and social care costs by £120 m over ten years.
