World Hypertension Day 2024
World Hypertension Day (an initiative of the World Hypertension League) will be marked on 17 May 2024, with May Measurement Month (MMM), established in 2017 by the ISH, running from 1 May to 31 July 2024.
Both initiatives aim to highlight the importance of better prevention, detection and treatment of high blood pressure.
The theme of World Hypertension Day is: Measure your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer. It focuses on combatting low awareness rates worldwide, especially in low to middle income areas, and accurate blood pressure measurement methods.
In addition, Salt Awareness week runs from 13 to 19 May 2024. Reducing the amount of salt in our diet is a quick and easy way to reduce our blood pressure and improve our health.
We encourage you to get involved in these campaigns, whether you have hypertension, know someone with hypertension, want to ensure your blood pressure is normal – or are a healthcare professional.
Information for healthcare professionals
Please get involved in World Hypertension Day by:
- Sharing hypertension information and resources with your patients and on social media – several resources can be found on this page
- Volunteering at a May Measure Month screening site
Information for patients and the public
Get involved
There are several ways you can get involved in this year’s campaigns, including by:
- Getting your blood pressure checked
- Encouraging friends, family and your patients to have their blood pressure checked
- Sharing hypertension information and resources about hypertension – such as those on this page – with family and friends and on social media.
Getting your blood pressure checked
To get your blood pressure checked:
- Visit your GP, family doctor or a local pharmacy and ask how you can have your blood pressure checked.
- Look out for blood pressure screening sites being advertised near you.
- Buy or borrow a validated blood pressure monitor so you can measure your own blood pressure at home. Validated blood pressure devices are listed on the STRIDE BP website. Follow the guidance below on how to take accurate blood pressure measurements.
Measuring your own blood pressure
There is a right way to measure blood pressure, and we provide guidance below. This guidance is also relevant when a healthcare professional is measuring your blood pressure. If these instructions are not followed the measurement can be misleading.
Accurate measurement of blood pressure
When measuring your own blood pressure:
- Don’t smoke, drink alcohol or drink caffeinated drinks for 30 minutes prior to measuring your blood pressure
- Empty your bladder beforehand.
- Take your blood pressure in a quiet room at a comfortable temperature.
- Sit upright in a chair with uncrossed legs and feet flat on the floor.
- Rest quietly for 5 minutes before taking a reading.
- Position your arm so that it rests on the table. The middle of the arm should be at the level of your heart.
- Take three readings, at 1 minute intervals. Use the average of the last 2 readings.
- Do not talk during and between the measurements.
This graphic from STRIDE BP (see right) explains accurate measurement of blood pressure in a visual format:
Making sure your blood pressure monitor is accurate
If you are measuring your own blood pressure, make sure that you use a validated automated electronic blood pressure device with a cuff for the upper arm.
Many blood pressure devices available for purchase have not passed rigorous scientific testing for accuracy – meaning they are more likely to give incorrect readings.
You can find a list of validated devices by visiting the website of STRIDE BP – an international non-profit organisation supported by the ISH, the European Society of Hypertension and the World Hypertension League.
Hypertension information and resources
Download:
- 8 ways to manage your blood pressure: Watch the video.
- FAQs about hypertension.
- Access a course aimed at patients on how to manage their blood pressure. This course is from the Pan-American Healthcare Organisation.
- Social media graphics on lifestyle approaches to managing hypertension.
Lifestyle management of hypertension
Access an ISH position paper from 2023 on lifestyle approaches to managing hypertension. This paper sets out how simple changes to lifestyle in areas including diet, exercise and stress management, can help manage hypertension, or prevent onset of hypertension.
Links and more information
- World Hypertension Day
- STRIDE BP (to check if a blood pressure monitor is validated)
- May Measurement Month, launched by the ISH in 2017
- World Hypertension League
- Salt Awareness Week
- For clinicians: Virtual management of hypertension: a position paper from the ISH. Watch the video linked to the paper.
- For healthcare professionals: STRIDE BP (for accredited e-learning modules on office, home, and ambulatory blood pressure measurement): stridebp.org
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