What is hypertension?
Blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood around the body.
High blood pressure is when the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is too high. Hypertension is a diagnosed medical condition when blood pressure is consistently high. This can lead to other serious health conditions and is a major risk factor for conditions such as stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure and chronic kidney diseases.
Definitions and data sources
High measured blood pressure
High measured blood pressure is defined as having:
- systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mmHg and/or
- diastolic blood pressure is greater than or equal to 90 mmHg.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2022–24 National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) is used to estimate the latest data on measured high blood pressure. Participants who had blood pressure readings of greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg (as defined above) were considered to have high measured blood pressure. Those with blood pressure readings of less than 140/90 mmHg were considered to have optimal measured blood pressure. For more information on methodologies, see Technical notes.
Hypertension
Hypertension is defined as:
- having high measured blood pressure (that is systolic blood pressure is greater than or equal to 140 mmHg, and/or diastolic blood pressure is greater than or equal to 90 mmHg), and/or
- receiving medication for high blood pressure (Whitworth 2003).
Hypertension diagnosis is based on multiple clinical blood pressure readings on at least 2 separate occasions (Heart Foundation 2016).
The ABS 2022 National Health Survey (NHS) and the ABS 2023 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) were used to estimate the latest data on hypertension. Participants who had hypertension were those:
- with measured high blood pressure (greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg) and/or
- who are receiving antihypertensive medications, which includes those with measured blood pressure within the optimal range (referred to as controlled hypertension) and those with measured high blood pressure (referred to as uncontrolled hypertension). For more information on methodologies, see Technical notes.
Controlled and uncontrolled hypertension
This report focusses on hypertension that is controlled through taking medications to reduce blood pressure (antihypertensive medications).
Controlled hypertension refers to people who are dispensed medications for hypertension and have an optimal measured blood pressure reading.
Uncontrolled hypertension refers to people who have high blood pressure, regardless of whether they are dispensed medications for hypertension.
The ABS 2022 National Health Survey (NHS) were used to estimate the latest data on controlled and uncontrolled hypertension. For more information, see Technical notes.
Hypertension often has no symptoms, and is typically classified as:
- Hypertension: more common and due to various risk factors such as ageing, genetic predisposition, living with overweight and obesity, and lifestyle factors, for example, insufficient physical activity and high sodium intake.
- Secondary causes of hypertension: due to medical conditions or medications taken (Cleveland Clinic 2023).
Many factors can increase the risk of high blood pressure including:
- Unhealthy diet (such as high intakes of sodium, saturated and trans fats and low intakes of potassium, fruit and vegetables)
- Insufficient physical activity
- High consumption of alcohol
- Genetics/family history
- Smoking and/or use of nicotine e-cigarettes
- Living with overweight or obesity
- Age (adults over 55 years)
- Medications such as those to manage ADHD, inflammation, autoimmune diseases and mental health conditions
- Having chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, obstructive sleep apnoea and/or thyroid disease (Cleveland Clinic 2023).
For most people, high blood pressure can be controlled with a combination of lifestyle measures and antihypertensive medication, which significantly reduces the risk of developing chronic conditions.
Treatment and management of hypertension
The treatment and management of hypertension include primary and secondary prevention and monitoring, which includes lifestyle changes and pharmacological treatment.
Prevention
Practising healthy living habits such as eating a healthy diet, being physically active, not smoking, limiting alcohol intake and managing stress can help prevent high blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy weight can also help prevent hypertension.
Secondary prevention and monitoring
Secondary prevention is the treatment of hypertension once diagnosed. Treatment is usually based on both lifestyle modifications and blood pressure lowering medicines.
Lifestyle changes can help lower high blood pressure. These include:
- eating a healthy, low-salt diet with high fibre, fruit and vegetables
- replacing salt with potassium-enriched salt substitutes
- maintaining a healthy weight
- being physically active
- limiting and/or avoiding intake of alcohol
- quitting tobacco use
- quitting vaping products that contain nicotine
- avoiding (where practical) certain medications.
Most people with hypertension need to take medicine in addition to making lifestyle changes to help keep their blood pressure within the optimal range. The recommended blood pressure goal depends on an individual’s health status or other existing health conditions. For most people, the goal is to have a blood pressure less than 140/90 mmHg. However, a blood pressure goal of less than 130/80 mm Hg is recommended for people who are living with cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke), diabetes, chronic kidney disease and those at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Regular measurement of blood pressure is an important step toward controlling high blood pressure and helps to diagnose any health problems early. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, therefore measuring blood pressure is the only way to know whether it is too high. This also helps to monitor the effectiveness of the treatment in controlling blood pressure or if there is need for adjusting the treatment for better control.
Blood pressure medicines work in several different ways to lower blood pressure (FDA 2015).
- Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors slow the production of a hormone (angiotensin II) that narrows blood vessels, causing dilation of blood vessels and lowering blood pressure.
- Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) block the effect of the angiotensin II hormone to constrict the blood vessels.
- Calcium channel blockers disrupt the movement of calcium through channels into blood vessels and heart cells. This allows the blood vessels to relax and the heart to beat more easily and/or slowly.
- Diuretics (also called water pills) help the body eliminate extra water. They work by making the kidneys excrete more sodium in urine. The sodium then removes water from blood. This decreases the amount of fluid flowing through the blood vessels, which reduces pressure on the walls of the arteries.
- Beta blockers target beta receptors that are found on cells of the heart muscles, smooth muscles, and other tissues. Beta blockers mainly work to weaken the effects of stress hormones on the heart.
- Centrally-acting alpha adrenergics lower blood pressure by decreasing certain chemicals in the blood, therefore relaxing blood vessels and enabling the heart to beat slowly and easily.
- Peripherally acting alpha-adrenergic blockers stop hormones from tightening the muscles in the walls of smaller arteries. By causing the arterial vessels to remain open and relaxed, these drugs improve blood flow and lower blood pressure.
- Vasodilators help widen blood vessels, which results in relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls. When blood vessels dilate, the flow of blood is increased due to a decrease in resistance. This dilation of arterial blood vessels decreases blood pressure.
The latest developments in blood pressure lowering therapies have shown that there are benefits in taking single pill combination therapies (SPCs), also called fixed-dose combinations. Single pill combination therapy refers to a single pill that contains two or more antihypertensive drugs, usually at lower doses. The SPCs have shown benefit in lowering blood pressure more effectively and not increasing side effects due to lower doses while making it easier for patients to only take a single pill per day. Data show reduced stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular outcomes in patients who use SPCs compared to free-drug combinations, and are now recommended in all international guidelines as first-line therapy (King et al. 2025; Salam et al. 2019).
Cleveland Clinic (2023) High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Cleveland Clinic website, accessed 17 September 2025.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2015) High Blood Pressure Medications and You: Infographic, FDA website, accessed 23 September 2025.
National Heart Foundation of Australia (Heart Foundation) (2016) Clinical information for diagnosis and management of hypertension, National Heart Foundation of Australia website, accessed 2 February 2026.
Whitworth JA (2003) ‘World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension statement on management of hypertension’ Journal of Hypertension, 21(11):1983–1992, doi: 10.1097/00004872-200311000-00002.
Salam A, Kanukula R, Atkins E, Wang X, Islam S, Kishore SP, Jaffe MG, Patel A, Rodgers A (2019) ‘Efficacy and safety of dual combination therapy of blood pressure-lowering drugs as initial treatment for hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials’, Journal of Hypertension, 37(9):1768–1774. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000002096.
King JB, An J, Bellows BK, Cohen JB, Commodore-Mensah Y, Ghazi L, Langford AT and Brook RD (2025) ‘Single-Pill Combination Therapy for the Management of Hypertension: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association’, Hypertension, 83(3), doi:10.1161/HYP.0000000000000258.