High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects more than one-third of adults around the world. It is one of the main causes of early death due to heart disease and other long-term illnesses.
Although treatments for high blood pressure are widely available, many people still face serious health problems. That’s because they may also struggle with other risks like being overweight, having high cholesterol or diabetes, or living a sedentary lifestyle.
Most past studies looked at how just one risk factor affects life expectancy. But few studies have asked an important question: What happens if we manage several of these health risks at the same time? A new study answers that question—and the results are hopeful.
The study was published in the journal Precision Clinical Medicine. Researchers from Tulane University, Harvard University, and Central South University led the research. Dr. Jian Zhou and Professor Lu Qi were the lead authors.
The team looked at data from nearly 71,000 people with high blood pressure who were part of the UK Biobank study. They focused on eight health risks that can be changed or managed: blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist size, LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind), blood sugar levels, kidney function, smoking, and physical activity.
Each person was placed into a group based on how many of these eight risks they had under control. Then, the researchers followed them for almost 14 years.
The results showed that the more risks people controlled, the lower their chance of dying early. People who had all eight risk factors under control had a 40% lower chance of dying from any cause. Their risk of dying from cancer dropped by 39%, and their risk of death from heart disease dropped by 53%. Even deaths from other causes fell by 29%.
Even better, people with high blood pressure who controlled at least four of the eight risks had no higher chance of dying early than people without high blood pressure at all. This means that it’s possible to cancel out the dangers of hypertension by taking good care of your overall health.
But there’s still work to do. Only about 7% of the people in the study had seven or more of the risks under control. This shows that most patients are still not getting the full benefits of risk management.
Professor Lu Qi said, “Our study shows that managing health risks together—not just focusing on blood pressure—can reduce the risk of early death. Doctors and health systems need to do more to help people manage weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, kidney health, smoking, and exercise.”
These findings suggest that treating hypertension should go beyond just lowering blood pressure. Clinical care and public health programs should help patients make changes in multiple areas of health. This is especially important for older adults and people with other health problems.
Public health leaders should also work on making it easier for people to meet these goals. This includes education and support to help people improve their health habits. Future studies will help show the best ways to put these ideas into practice for people of different backgrounds.
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