More than half of adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina live with hypertension, warns new WHO report

(Patria) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its second Global Report on Hypertension, showing that 1.4 billion people lived with hypertension in 2024, but that just over one in five have the condition under control, either through medication or by reducing health risks.

About 1.1 million adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) live with hypertension. With a prevalence of 53%, BiH citizens exceed the global average by 20%, highlighting the urgency of action. Only one in five people with hypertension achieves healthy blood pressure values, compared to one in three globally.

Erwin Cooreman, WHO Special Representative in BiH, stated:

“Hypertension can be successfully treated in most cases. Investing in detection, treatment, and control will save thousands of lives and reduce future healthcare costs. Strengthening primary healthcare and ensuring access to adequate measures such as stress avoidance and healthy diet, as well as available medications, are key to closing the treatment and control gap.”

Hypertension is the leading cause of heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and dementia. Without urgent action, millions of people will continue to die prematurely, and countries will face growing economic losses. From 2011 to 2025, cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, are estimated to have cost low- and middle-income countries approximately 3.7 billion US dollars, corresponding to about 2% of their total GDP.

“Every hour, more than 1,000 lives are lost due to strokes and heart attacks caused by high blood pressure, and most of these deaths are preventable,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Countries have the tools to change this reality. With political will, the necessary investments, and reforms to integrate hypertension control into health services, we can save millions of lives and ensure universal health coverage for all.”

The new report was released at an event co-organized by WHO, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Resolve to Save Lives during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.