Hypertensive disease is when the blood pressure is chronically elevated.

It is a sub-category of All cardiovascular deaths (Map 9).

There is a patterning to deaths from this disease that does not fit the standard. North London, the Black Country, south Wales, south Cambridgeshire, central Manchester and Glasgow do not have a huge amount in common other than having high rates of death from this disease. Similarly, those areas where death from this illness are rarer have little in common other than that the pace of life tends to perhaps be slower, Swindon being the town where hypertensive disease is most rarely the cause of death. Local idiosyncrasies in diagnosis and cause of death certification may have a part to play, and so may idiosyncrasies in treatment or lack thereof. Black African and Black Caribbean people have a higher risk of high blood pressure. Lifestyle factors are also important. High blood pressure is often asymptomatic and therefore not diagnosed or treated.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can be the result of other underlying (that is, secondary) health problems, such as kidney disease. Obesity is an important cause of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure means the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body, which can weaken it. Hypertension often causes no immediate problems but is an important risk factor for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, arterial aneurysm and chronic renal failure. The main risk factors are obesity, alcohol, a high salt diet and a family history of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is usually detected through routine health check ups. Treatment can be through long-term medication but lifestyle changes are also recommended: weight reduction, reducing salt in the diet and reducing alcohol consumption all help. Exercise and not smoking reduce the associated risks.