High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is one of the most common long-term health conditions in the world.
More than one in three adults live with it, and many do not know they have it because it often causes no symptoms in its early stages.
Over time, however, high blood pressure can damage blood vessels and force the heart to work harder. This greatly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, and other serious health problems.
Doctors usually treat high blood pressure with lifestyle changes and medicines. Eating less salt, staying physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking prescribed medication can all help lower blood pressure.
While these steps remain very important, new research suggests that controlling blood pressure alone may not be enough to achieve the best possible health.
A large international study has found that people with high blood pressure can greatly reduce their risk of dying early if they improve several important health factors at the same time instead of focusing only on their blood pressure.
The study was led by researchers from Tulane University, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Central South University. The research team included Dr. Jian Zhou and Professor Lu Qi. Their findings were published on March 19, 2025, in the journal Precision Clinical Medicine.
The researchers used information from the UK Biobank, one of the world’s largest health research databases. They studied almost 71,000 adults who had high blood pressure and followed their health for nearly 14 years.
The scientists wanted to answer an important question. Could people with hypertension lower their risk of early death by improving several health risks at the same time?
To find out, they looked at eight major risk factors that can often be improved through healthy lifestyle changes or medical treatment. These included blood pressure, body weight measured by body mass index, waist size, LDL cholesterol, often called “bad” cholesterol, blood sugar levels measured by glycated hemoglobin, kidney health measured by albumin in the urine, smoking status, and physical activity.
The researchers grouped participants according to how many of these eight risk factors they successfully controlled.
The results were clear. The more health risks people managed, the lower their chances of dying during the study.
People who kept all eight risk factors under control had a 40% lower risk of dying from any cause compared with people who controlled fewer factors. Their risk of dying from heart disease was 53% lower. Their risk of dying from cancer was 39% lower, and their risk of dying from other causes was 29% lower.
One of the most encouraging findings was that people with high blood pressure who successfully controlled at least four of the eight risk factors had no greater risk of early death than people who did not have high blood pressure. This suggests that improving overall health can greatly reduce the extra risks normally linked with hypertension.
Unfortunately, the study also found that very few people reached these goals. Only 7.3% of participants managed to control seven or more of the eight risk factors. This shows that many people are still not receiving enough support to manage every aspect of their health.
The researchers believe doctors should look beyond blood pressure numbers alone. A complete treatment plan should also include helping patients lose excess weight if needed, stop smoking, become more physically active, control cholesterol and blood sugar, and protect kidney health. Treating all these problems together may provide much greater health benefits than treating each one separately.
People can also help themselves by eating a heart-healthy diet that includes plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, lean protein, and healthy fats while limiting salt, sugary drinks, and highly processed foods. Regular exercise, getting enough sleep, reducing stress, limiting alcohol, and taking medicines exactly as prescribed are also important parts of staying healthy.
Although this study was observational and cannot prove that controlling these risk factors directly caused the lower death rates, the large number of participants and the long follow-up period provide strong evidence that improving overall health is closely linked with living longer.
The findings offer an encouraging message for people with hypertension. High blood pressure does not have to determine your future. Looking after several areas of health at the same time may greatly reduce the risk of serious illness and early death, helping people live longer, healthier lives.
The research findings were published in Precision Clinical Medicine.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about how diets could help lower high blood pressure, and 3 grams of omega-3s a day keep high blood pressure at bay.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how tea and coffee influence your risk of high blood pressure, and results showing this olive oil could reduce blood pressure in healthy people.
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