The data was released as part of the World Health Organization's (WHO) second Global Hypertension Report, which estimates that approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide live with hypertension.

Approximately 2.5 million of these people are Portuguese, representing 41% of the adult population in Portugal, placing the country above the global average prevalence of approximately 34%.

Most cases are diagnosed (77%) and receiving treatment (72%), but only 1.4 million patients have the condition under control (52%).

Even so, progress has been positive, and over the past two decades, the number of people with controlled hypertension has steadily increased, a trend that the WHO estimates will continue until at least 2030.

On the other hand, Portugal has one of the lowest prevalence rates of uncontrolled hypertension in Europe, trailing only Iceland, Switzerland, Germany, and Malta.

The WHO report also states that 26% of the approximately 123,000 deaths recorded in 2021 were associated with cardiovascular disease, including 46 people whose deaths were attributed to high systolic blood pressure.

Risk factors

Regarding risk factors, the adult population over 25 consumes, on average, nine grams of salt per day, and 26% of Portuguese people over 15 smoke tobacco, while per capita alcohol consumption in the same group is approximately 11 litres per year.

On the other hand, about half of the population over 18 does not engage in physical activity, and 27% is obese.

"Every hour, more than 1,000 lives are lost due to strokes and heart attacks caused by high blood pressure, and most of these deaths could be prevented," emphasized WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the report's presentation at the 80th United Nations General Assembly.

Among the 195 United Nations countries and territories, 99 have hypertension control rates below 20%, primarily low- and middle-income countries.

In addition to insufficient health promotion policies regarding risk factors, other barriers highlighted by the WHO include limited access to blood pressure monitoring devices, a lack of treatment protocols and trained primary health care teams, and difficulties in accessing medication.