According to the World Health Organization, hypertension (raised blood pressure) causes an estimated 7.5 million deaths worldwide, which is roughly 12.8% of all total deaths.

The American Heart Association estimates that nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure. If left untreated, high blood pressure, also called “hypertension,” is a primary risk factor for several types of cardiovascular diseases, including:

  • stroke
  • heart attack
  • heart failure

Hypertension accounts for about half of all heart disease and stroke-related deaths worldwide. Untreated hypertension can also increase the risk of kidney disease and other organ failures.

Read more about the complications of hypertension.

In the United States, the mortality rate from hypertension and hypertensive renal disease per 100,000 is 13.

The table below shows how this rate compares to other leading causes of death in the United States. Data collected by the CDC from 2018 to 2022.

Leading causes of death in the United StatesNumber of deathsMortality rate per 100,000
diseases of the heart702,880210.9
malignant neoplasms (tumors)608,371182.5
accidents227,03968.1
COVID-19186,55256.0
cerebrovascular diseases165,39349.6
chronic lower respiratory diseases (bronchitis, emphysema, asthma)147,38244.2
Alzheimer’s disease120,12236.0
diabetes mellitus101,20930.4
nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis57,93717.4
chronic liver disease and cirrhosis54,80316.4
influenza and pneumonia47,05214.1
hypertension and hypertensive renal disease43,29313.0
septicemia42.26112.7
Parkinson disease39,21512.0