07 May 2026:
A message from the ISH 2026 Election Committee

As members of the ISH 2026 Election Committee, we are pleased to announce that Professor Kazuomi Kario of Japan (pictured) has been elected as the next President of the ISH (2026-2028).

Prof Kario, who is currently Secretary of the ISH, will take up office as President in October 2026, succeeding the current President, Prof George Stergiou. His appointment follows a Presidential election process that concluded in April 2026.

Prof Kario has been an active member of the ISH leadership for several years. He currently serves on both the Council and Executive Committee, and he recently led an important ISH position paper on digital innovations in hypertension.

Prof Kario is a distinguished clinician and researcher. He serves as Chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Jichi Medical University, Japan, where he has spent more than 30 years leading globally influential research in cardiovascular medicine and hypertension.

His research has advanced the understanding of blood pressure measurement, hypertension phenotypes, and the use of digital health and wearable technologies, as well as interventional approaches such as renal denervation. He and his team were the first to identify ‘morning surge’ in blood pressure as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Prof Kario founded the Hypertension Cardiovascular Outcome Prevention and Evidence in Asia (HOPE Asia Network) in 2018, and has served as President of the Japanese Society of Hypertension, Editor in Chief of Hypertension Research, as well as holding several high-profile roles for the ISH.

Prof Kario said: “I am deeply honoured to have been elected as the next President of ISH. This is a very significant responsibility, and I take it most seriously. I look forward to further enhancing ISH’s international presence and working together with colleagues from all regions of the world to achieve our shared goal: ensuring equitable blood pressure control for people worldwide and ultimately eliminating cardiovascular disease.”

Prof Kario is widely regarded as a collaborative and approachable leader, and we wish him every success in his role as President of the ISH.

Hiroshi Itoh, Chair, ISH 2026 Election Committee

George Stergiou, ISH President

Muscha Steckelings, ISH Council member