Eliminating disparities in hypertension control through dialogue, partnership, evidence and innovation.
The National Hypertension Control Roundtable (NHCR) is a coalition of public, private, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to eliminating disparities in hypertension control through dialogue, partnership, evidence and innovation. The NHCR prioritizes supporting people in controlling their blood pressure wherever they live, learn, work, play and pray; and equitably advancing patient care to increase hypertension control.

As a coalition, we implement the following approaches with a goal to increase national hypertension control rates to 80% by 2025:

  • Advance

    Advance policy to support improved hypertension screening and control rates.

  • Foster

    Foster partnerships to support population-level control of hypertension.

  • Amplify

    Amplify and advance effective hypertension control programs and practices to improve clinical and community systems.

  • Catalyze

    Catalyze funding and payment systems to advance equitable hypertension control.

Hypertension in the United States

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly one in two adults have hypertension. Even more troubling, only one in four people with hypertension have it under control. As a nation, this alarming percentage indicates that millions of Americans are at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States.

Everybody knows somebody who has hypertension, which is why the roundtable supports making hypertension control efforts and addressing disparities in care and prevention a national priority.

In the United States, uncontrolled hypertension:

  • Resulted in the loss of more than 877,503 lives in 2019.
  • Impacts individuals of all ages; more than 18% of those individuals were younger than 65.
  • Can increase a person’s risk of developing other life-threatening conditions, such as heart failure, kidney disease, pregnancy complications, and cognitive decline later in life.
In 2019, uncontrolled hypertension resulted in the loss of more than 877,503 lives in the U.S.

Health Equity and Hypertension

When addressing this complex condition, it is important to note that in the United States, certain groups of people have disproportionately high rates of hypertension and its related health consequences, however, we have an opportunity to prevent these health disparities with the use of evidence-based interventions and multi-sector engagement and support.

  • Prevalence is higher among older adults and also is notably higher among certain racial and ethnic groups, especially non-Hispanic Black people.
  • Psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors— such as low socioeconomic status, depression, job stress, financial stress, segregated neighborhoods, and neighborhood poverty level—also contribute to the risk of hypertension.
  • Social determinants of health, such as inequalities in the distribution of social, economic, and environmental conditions needed for health, have been associated with hypertension risk especially among non-Hispanic Black people and other historically oppressed communities of color
Health disparities generally refer to differences that may adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion

The Roundtable Opportunity

The destructive nature and complications of uncontrolled hypertension can be avoided with the use of evidence-based interventions and multi-sector engagement and support. The innovative partnerships among the roundtable members highlight how the public and private sector can actively play a role in celebrating, adapting, and expanding these interventions across the United States to achieve health equity.

Health equity can be defined every person having the opportunity to attain their full health potential