Awareness Day

World Hypertension Day

May 17, 2026 Recurs yearly

Healthcare workers conducting community blood pressure screening during World Hypertension Day awareness activities.

2026 Theme

Controlling Hypertension Together: Check Your Blood Pressure Regularly, Defeat the Silent Killer

Campaign Representation

Officially represented by the Red Ribbon.

Campaign Description

Established by the World Hypertension League in 2005 and observed on 17 May, this day (and the surrounding Hypertension Awareness Month) addresses hypertension — the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide, affecting an estimated 1.4 billion people.

Theme Focus

“Controlling Hypertension Together!” emphasizes that controlling high blood pressure is not solely an individual responsibility. It requires people to know their blood pressure, healthcare professionals to provide appropriate diagnosis and treatment, families and communities to support healthy behaviors and adherence, and health systems to ensure sustained access to medicines, monitoring and care.

The campaign also reinforces the importance of regular and accurate blood-pressure measurement. Hypertension often has no obvious symptoms, yet uncontrolled blood pressure substantially increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease and premature death.

Key Priorities

  • Encourage regular blood-pressure measurement and awareness of personal BP numbers
  • Improve accurate blood-pressure measurement, including at home
  • Increase detection of undiagnosed hypertension
  • Promote prevention through healthy diet, physical activity and other lifestyle measures
  • Reduce excessive dietary sodium/salt intake
  • Encourage appropriate and sustained use of prescribed antihypertensive medicines
  • Strengthen long-term follow-up and blood-pressure control
  • Improve access to affordable medicines and primary healthcare
  • Address hypertension-related health inequalities
  • Involve families, communities and healthcare professionals in hypertension control
  • Reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease
  • Strengthen hypertension prevention and management within primary healthcare
  • Promote validated blood-pressure devices and correct measurement techniques
  • Emphasize that hypertension control is a long-term process, not a one-time blood-pressure check

Key Concepts

  • Hypertension
  • High blood pressure
  • Blood pressure
  • Systolic blood pressure
  • Diastolic blood pressure
  • BP measurement
  • Accurate BP measurement
  • Home blood-pressure monitoring
  • Hypertension screening
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Stroke
  • Kidney disease
  • Heart disease
  • Cardiovascular risk
  • Primary healthcare
  • Antihypertensive medicines
  • Medication adherence
  • Treatment adherence
  • Lifestyle modification
  • Physical activity
  • Healthy diet
  • Dietary sodium
  • Salt reduction
  • Obesity
  • Tobacco
  • Alcohol
  • Blood-pressure control
  • Validated BP device
  • Silent killer

Campaign Resources & Support

View Awareness Calendar