The number of adults living with hypertension has doubled in the last 30 years, with a majority of such cases concentrated in low and middle-income countries (LMICs),  a study said on Wednesday.

Shockingly, nearly 41 percent of women and 51 percent of men with hypertension or high blood pressure were found to be unaware of their medical condition, according to The Lancet study. As a result, more than half of adults went without treatment in 2019, putting them at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

More than 8.5 million deaths in the world are directly linked to high blood pressure every year. Moreover, people suffering from the condition are at high risk of stroke, ischaemic heart disease and kidney diseases, the study said.

Researchers pointed out that lowering blood pressure can cut strokes by 35-40 percent, heart attacks by 20-25 percent, and heart failure by around 50 percent.

The study analyzed the blood pressure data of 100 million people from 184 countries to calculate the global population living with hypertension.

Despite the high risk associated with the condition, LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania, Nepal and Indonesia haven't seen much improvement.

Less than a quarter of women and less than a fifth of men with hypertension in the region received treatment to stabilize their blood pressure in 2019, and fewer than 10 percent had well-controlled blood pressure, said the study.

Early diagnosis and treatment have helped in drastically reducing hypertension among a significant population in high-income countries. Replicating the same practice could help control high blood pressure in LMICs, reducing the burden on health systems.

"Low detection and treatment rates that persist in the world's poorest nations, coupled with the rising number of people who have hypertension, will shift an increasing share of the burden of vascular and kidney diseases to sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and south Asia," warned co-author of the study, Leanne Riley.

"Improving the capacity of these countries to detect and treat hypertension as part of primary health care and universal health coverage must be accelerated," Riley added.

(A doctor checks the blood pressure of a patient at a clinic in downtown Los Angeles, July 30, 2007. /Reuters)