May Hypertension Month 2026: What’s the Hype, and why it should matter to you
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
There's a number inside you right now that says more about your long-term health than almost any other.
You can't feel it.
You can't sense it changing.
You won't get a warning when it shifts.
And the only way to know what it's doing is to measure it.
That number is your blood pressure.
And this May, NKMT are on a mission to get as many people as possible to find out theirs.
What is Hypertension Month?
May is Hypertension Awareness Month, a global health campaign dedicated to one of the most common, most overlooked, and most preventable health conditions on the planet. It runs alongside World Hypertension Day on Sunday 17 May 2026, and May Measurement Month, established in 2017 by the International Society of Hypertension.
The numbers behind it are striking.
Hypertension, defined as persistently elevated systolic blood pressure over 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of at least 90 mmHg, affects over 1.5 billion people worldwide.
And it remains the leading preventable cause of premature death globally.
Here's the part that often surprises people: only about 1 in 4 people with hypertension have their blood pressure adequately controlled.
Hypertension is often called the "silent killer" because it usually has no symptoms but significantly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and premature death.
It's also the leading cause of lifestyle-related brain haemorrhages, the very reason NKMT exists.
No symptoms.
No warning.
Just risk, quietly building, often without anyone realising.
What’s the Hype?
"What’s the Hype?" is the NKMT campaign running throughout May 2026. The premise is simple, the mission is serious:
We want as many people as possible to check their blood pressure and actually understand what their numbers mean.
Not vaguely.
Not "I think it's fine."
Actually check it.
Actually understand.
The data we've collected so far
We run NKMT awareness days across UK city centres, where anyone can come down, speak to a member of the NKMT team, and get their blood pressure checked for free.
The data below is the result of those conversations and those checks, with 1,201 people tested across every age and every background:
1 in 6 teenagers had high blood pressure
1 in 5 people in their 20s had high blood pressure
36% of people in their 30s
40% of people in their 40s
44% of people in their 50s
Every decade, the number climbs. And most people never feel a thing.
This isn't an "old person" problem
This is the bit we really need people to hear.
Somewhere along the way, high blood pressure got branded as something that happens to your grandad. Something you'll worry about later. Something for retirement, not for now.
The data tells a completely different story.
1 in 6 teenagers we tested had high blood pressure.
1 in 5 people in their 20s.
These are people who, by every cultural assumption we have about health, should be fine.
Hypertension doesn't care how old you are. It doesn't care what gender you are. It doesn't care about your ethnicity, your job, your fitness level, or how healthy you look in the mirror.
It affects every age group, every background, every demographic, and the only reliable way to know whether it affects you is to measure it.
This pattern shows up in brain haemorrhage statistics too. Cases affect people of all ages, including a significant proportion in the 15-49 age bracket.
If you're young, you're not exempt.
If you feel great, you're not exempt.
If "no one in my family has it", you're still not exempt, because plenty of people in our database were the first in theirs.
This is the hype.
This is what no one is telling you about blood pressure.
And this is why we're not letting May go by quietly.
So what actually is blood pressure?
"Knowing your numbers" only matters if you know what they mean.
Blood pressure is the force your blood exerts against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps it around your body. It's measured in two numbers.
Systolic (the top number): the pressure when your heart beats.
Diastolic (the bottom number): the pressure between beats, when your heart is filling back up.
A reading is given as systolic over diastolic, like 120/80 mmHg.
Here's our simple guide for adults:
Low: below 100 systolic and/or below 70 diastolic
Normal: 100-140 systolic and 70-90 diastolic
High: above 140 systolic and/or above 90 diastolic
These thresholds matter because they're tied directly to your long-term risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, and dementia. For a deeper breakdown of what your numbers mean and how to act on them, our brain haemorrhage prevention page goes into more detail.
Why "no symptoms" is the trickiest part
Most conditions give you something to work with. A pain. A lump. A cough.
High blood pressure often gives you nothing.
You can go for years, sometimes decades, with blood pressure that's quietly putting strain on your heart and arteries, without ever feeling off.
That's not meant to alarm you, it's simply why measurement matters so much.
Early detection saves lives. Most people with hypertension are unaware they have it. Screening and routine measurement are essential.
You can't manage what you don't measure.
Why we built "What’s the Hype?
Awareness is not enough.
Everyone has vaguely heard that blood pressure matters. Everyone nods along when their GP mentions it. But knowing it matters in the abstract doesn't put a cuff on your arm. It doesn't get the number written down. It doesn't start the conversation that could make a real difference.
What does that? Action.
Specifically: checking, logging, and knowing.
How to get involved
Step 1:
Check your blood pressure. You can do this at one of our NKMT awareness days (free, no appointment needed), at your GP, at most UK pharmacies, or with a home monitor. If you're buying a home device, make sure it's validated, as many devices on the market haven't passed rigorous scientific testing for accuracy.
Step 2:
Log your results. One reading is a snapshot, a pattern is the picture. Use our blood pressure reading results form to enter your numbers, and you'll receive an email back with more information based on whether your reading is low, normal, or high, plus next steps you can take. It's the easiest way to make sense of what you've measured.
Step 3:
Build the habit. One check is good. Regular checks are far better. Sign up to our free monthly blood pressure reminders, make it a habit, not a one-off check.
Win a £100 Amazon voucher throughout May
We want this campaign to land. So, throughout May, we're giving away a £100 Amazon voucher to 1 lucky people who takes part.
Check your blood pressure.
That's it, you're entered.
A small thank-you for doing something that could genuinely benefit your long-term health.
One last thing
If you read this whole blog and don't do anything, we've missed the mark.
Find a pharmacy, a GP appointment, a home monitor, or come along to one of our awareness days in a city centre near you.
Take three minutes. Get the numbers. Log them with us.
Then tell someone else to do it: a parent, a partner, a mate, the teenager in your life who thinks none of this applies to them yet.
