National Hypertension
Taskforce
A collaborative cross-sector approach to reducing the burden of high blood pressure in Australia.
Goal
To increase blood pressure control* to at least 70% by 2030 in Australia.
*Defined as <140/90 mmHg
The burden of hypertension in Australia continues to grow. Updated estimates indicate that 7.2 million Australians are living with high blood pressure, compared with 6.8 million at the time of the Taskforce’s launch in 2022.1-2
About 2.5 million don’t know they have it. 1
1.9 million are aware they have it, but it is uncontrolled (>140/90 mmHg). 1
Of those who do have it detected and treated, 40% are treated effectively and have their BP under control (<140/90 mmHg), up from 32% in 2022. 1-2
Featured updates
Taskforce receives seed grant to support culturally-led hypertension initiatives
The National Hypertension Taskforce is thrilled to announce we have been awarded a $75,000 seed grant from one of the Taskforce’s founding organisations, the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA), to deliver the project “Preventing, detecting and effectively treating hypertension in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”.
Automated office blood pressure measurement (AOBP) position statement
Hypertension Australia and the National Hypertension Taskforce have released an important new position statement on AOBP measurement, led by Professor James Sharman. AOBP is the recommended measurement standard for the diagnosis and management of hypertension.
National Hypertension Summit 2024
The inaugural Summit was held on the November 26 in Sydney, and served as a powerful reminder of the critical role collaboration plays in addressing hypertension. It was a unique opportunity to hear the Taskforce discuss proggress on the Roadmap to achieving our goal.
Roadmap publication
The Roadmap has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia. It is built on three pillars to (A) prevent; (B) detect; and (C) effectively treat raised BP.
Taskforce official launch
The National Hypertension Taskforce was officially launched by the Honourable Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care on the 8th December 2022.
Podcast miniseries:
Tackling Hypertension Head-On
Taskforce co-lead Prof. Alta Schutte hosts a six-part miniseries podcast on Drivetime Radio covering everything hypertension – from guidelines, lifestyle choices, blood pressure monitoring devices, and multidisciplinary care.
Senator Raff Ciccone
Senator Raff Ciccone addressed the Federal Senate on 15 May 2024 to speak about his experience with high blood pressure and why it’s so important to get it checked.
Nearly 4 in 10 Australian adults
25,000 deaths annually
$91.6 billion could be saved
1. Ohlrogge AH, Xu X, Goodman A, Jennings G, Murphy L, Nelson MR, Sharman JE, Tassie R, Schlaich MP, Schutte AE. Update from the National Hypertension Taskforce of Australia: Prevalence, treatment and control rates of hypertension between 2022-2024 – implicatoins and future directions. J Hypertens 2026 doi:10.1097/HJH.0000000000004358 | 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. High blood pressure. Canberra: AIHW, 2019. | 3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Hypertension in Australia. Canberra: AIHW 2026. | 4. GBD 2019 Risk Factors Collaborators. Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet 2020; 396(10258): 1223-49. | 5. Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global Burden of Disease. Deaths by Risk Factor in Australia. 2019. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-by-risk-factor?country=~AUS (accessed April 2024). | 6. Xu X, Islam SMS, Schlaich M, Jennings G, Schutte AE. The contribution of raised blood pressure to the burden of cardiovascular disease and deaths in Australia from 1990 to 2019. PLoS One 2024; 19(2): e0297229. | 7. Hird TR, Zomer E, Owen AJ, Magliano DJ, Liew D, Ademi Z. Productivity Burden of Hypertension in Australia. Hypertension 2019; 73(4): 777-84.
Founding organisations
Co-founding organisations
Supporting organisations
