Health · Public Health & Disease · 1 hr ago
About half of diagnosed patients do not take blood pressure treatment correctly
About one-third of people worldwide have high blood pressure, and around 44% of them do not know it.
Among people who have been diagnosed, about half stop treatment or do not take it as prescribed.
Because high blood pressure often has no symptoms, some patients may underestimate it, while managing several medicines or dealing with side effects can also make treatment harder.
Poor adherence can raise the risk of stroke or heart attack by up to double.
Experts recommend working closely with patients, raising awareness of long-term risks and using telemedicine to support treatment.
Combining two or three blood pressure medicines in one pill can reduce the number of pills patients need to take.
A low-dose combination of four medicines in one pill is expected to become available soon.
About half of patients diagnosed with high blood pressure stop treatment or do not take it correctly, according to figures presented at a recent medical congress.
Poor adherence can lead to up to a doubling of the risk of stroke or heart attack, the report said.
About one third of the world’s population has high blood pressure, and about 44% of them are unaware they have it.
Experts cited the condition’s lack of symptoms, complex medication schedules and unwanted side effects as reasons patients may not follow treatment.
They said patient support, prevention campaigns, telemedicine and combination pills could help improve adherence.
- Who
- About half of patients diagnosed with high blood pressure.
- What
- They stop treatment or do not take it correctly.
- When
- The figures were presented at a recent congress; the article was published on 12 November 2026.
- Where
- The congress of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine was held in Rimini.
- Why
- High blood pressure often has no symptoms, and multiple medicines or side effects can make treatment harder to manage.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Italian Society of Internal Medicine held its congress in Rimini, where the figures were presented.
ANSA published a report on treatment adherence among patients with high blood pressure.
- Global prevalence
- About one third of the world’s population has high blood pressure.
- Unaware of diagnosis
- About 44% of people with high blood pressure do not know they have it.
- Treatment adherence
- About half of diagnosed patients stop treatment or do not take it correctly.
- Health risk
- Poor adherence can lead to up to a doubling of the risk of stroke or heart attack.
- Proposed treatment option
- Combination pills can contain two or three blood-pressure-lowering active ingredients.
What people are saying
The mechanisms behind poor adherence to treatment among patients with high blood pressure are many.
The guidelines strongly recommend the use of ready-made fixed-dose combination formulations (more than one active ingredient in the same pill) to improve patients’ adherence to treatment.