A new study from Tulane University brings hopeful news for people with high blood pressure.
Researchers found that managing several key health risks at once can greatly lower—and even completely remove—the risk of dying early for people with hypertension.
The study was published in the journal Precision Clinical Medicine. It followed more than 70,000 people with high blood pressure and over 224,000 people without it, using health data from the UK Biobank. Participants were tracked for nearly 14 years to see how different health factors influenced the chances of dying before the age of 80.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as a blood pressure reading of 130 mmHg or higher. It is one of the top causes of preventable early death around the world. Most people with high blood pressure are advised to take medicine to lower it, but this study shows that managing other parts of your health is just as important.
The researchers looked at eight health risk factors: blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist size, LDL or “bad” cholesterol, blood sugar, kidney function, smoking habits, and physical activity.
They found that people with high blood pressure who had at least four of these risk factors under control had no higher risk of dying early than people without high blood pressure.
Dr. Lu Qi, the lead author of the study and a professor at Tulane University, explained that treating high blood pressure alone is not enough. That’s because high blood pressure can also cause problems in other areas of the body.
By improving overall health and focusing on these individual risk factors, people with hypertension can reduce their chance of dying early.
The more risk factors people controlled, the better their results. For every risk factor managed, the risk of early death dropped by 13%. The risk of dying early from cancer dropped by 12%, and the risk of dying early from heart disease fell by 21%.
When people managed seven or more of the eight risk factors, their risk of early death dropped by 40%. Their chance of dying from cancer went down by 39%, and their risk of dying from heart disease went down by 53%. This shows that working on your overall health—not just focusing on blood pressure—can have major benefits.
One surprising result of the study was that only 7% of people with high blood pressure had seven or more of the risk factors under control. This means there is a big opportunity to help more people improve their health and live longer lives.
The findings suggest that doctors and healthcare providers should take a more personalized and wide-reaching approach to treating high blood pressure. This includes helping patients make healthy lifestyle changes, like quitting smoking, staying active, eating well, and managing their weight and blood sugar—along with taking medicine when needed.
In summary, the study highlights that high blood pressure doesn’t have to lead to early death. With a focus on managing several important health factors, people with hypertension can live longer and healthier lives.
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