For people with high blood pressure, controlling risk factors could mean a longer life
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- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
People with high blood pressure typically die younger than people without the condition. But they can significantly lower — or even eliminate — that difference by controlling several key health risk factors, according to a study published in the June 2025 issue of Precision Clinical Medicine.
Researchers tracked nearly 71,000 people with high blood pressure (average age 58, 48% women) and more than 224,000 age- and sex-matched people without the condition for up to 16 years. None had cancer or heart disease at the study’s start. The researchers analyzed how well participants controlled eight health risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index, waist size, LDL (bad) cholesterol, blood sugar, kidney function, smoking, and physical activity. They then tracked how many people died before age 70 (which was considered dying prematurely) and from what causes.
Participants who controlled six or more of the eight risk factors lowered their risk of dying early from any cause by 55%. More specifically, they cut their risk of dying prematurely from heart disease by two-thirds and halved their risk of dying early from cancer. Notably, the researchers found no difference in early death between the participants with high blood pressure who controlled at least four of the risk factors and those with normal blood pressure.
Image: © Oscar Wong /Getty Images
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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