Updated

Updated · Lowell Sun · Jun 10

Greater Lowell Hypertension Rate Tops 40% as Doctors Push 130/80 Screening Target

Updated

Updated · Lowell Sun · Jun 10

Greater Lowell Hypertension Rate Tops 40% as Doctors Push 130/80 Screening Target

Q: Has the widespread spike in blood pressure caused by the pandemic ever returned to normal?

Yes — at the population level, the pandemic-related rise in blood pressure appears to have returned to its pre-pandemic trend, but not quickly and not equally for everyone. The strongest evidence cited here comes from a large Montefiore Health System study covering 2017 to 2024. It found that average systolic blood pressure rose by 1.69 mmHg after the pandemic began. That increase did not normalize for about 16 months, with levels returning to the pre-pandemic trend around July 2022. That said, “back to normal” does not mean the problem is solved. The same research found bigger blood-pressure increases among racial and ethnic minorities and people in lower-income neighborhoods, suggesting some groups were hit harder and may have recovered less evenly. More broadly, hypertension remains highly prevalent and poorly controlled: nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, and only about 20% to 25% of patients nationally have it well controlled. The Greater Lowell data fit that larger picture. More than 40% of residents there have hypertension, above the Massachusetts average. Doctors say the condition often goes unnoticed because it usually has no symptoms, which is why routine screening and follow-up matter. So the pandemic spike itself seems to have eased by mid-2022 in overall population data, but the long-term burden of hypertension remains elevated, and disparities and poor control continue to be major concerns.

1 articles · Updated · Lowell Sun · Jun 10

More than 40% of Greater Lowell residents have high blood pressure, according to the 2025 Greater Lowell Community Health Needs Assessment cited by Lowell General Hospital cardiology chief Dr. Kirk Macnaught.
Macnaught said hypertension is a “silent killer” because most patients feel no symptoms until severe elevation, allowing untreated cases to raise risks of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and blindness.
Massachusetts averages about 30% and the U.S. nearly 50%, placing Lowell above the state rate but in line with broader national and urban chronic-disease patterns.
Only about 20% to 25% of hypertensive patients nationally have their condition well controlled, he said, making yearly checkups important to keep readings below 130/80 and adjust treatment.
Three steps he highlighted were cutting sodium to 1,500-2,000 milligrams a day, losing even 5 pounds, and walking about an hour daily to improve blood-pressure control.