Hypertension in young adults
Walter van der Merwe, Veronica van der Merwe
Hypertension is common, even in young adults. The NHANES survey 2011–2012 put the incidence
of hypertension in the 18–39 year age group at 7.3%.
1 There are no outcome studies of hypertension
treatment in young adults, but short to medium-term risks (5–10 years) of untreated mild and
moderate hypertension are likely to be low
.2 However, long-term outcomes (30–40 years) are much
more important to people in their 20s than to those in their 60s and 70s and it seems likely that
hypertension from a young age, particularly if undiagnosed or untreated for a long period of time
would carry a very substantial long-term cardiovascular risk.
3 General practitioners may be reluctant to make a diagnosis of hypertension in a young person, and
may also lack confidence about how to investigate and treat it. There is evidence that hypertension in
this age group is less likely to be diagnosed or treated even when young individuals have good access
to primary care.
4 Between 22 February 2009 and 10 June 2013, 1000 consecutive new patients were seen through the
North Shore Hospital Hypertension Clinic; mean age 55 years. From this group we extracted and reviewed the data on those aged 30 years or less at their first visit.