Hypertension & Blood Pressure
Improving how high blood pressure is understood, detected and treated
High blood pressure is one of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Left untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and eye disease. Research is the key to helping people with high blood pressure find new treatments and improve their quality of life.
That is why at RPH Research Foundation we help fund the Dobney Hypertension Centre (DHC). Leading the team is world-renowned hypertension specialist Professor Markus Schlaich.
DHC is accredited as a Hypertension Excellence Centre by the European Society of Hypertension and engages in high-quality clinical research with the ultimate aim to better understand the mechanisms that lead to elevated blood pressure. Throughout the year, numerous clinical trials and research studies are run by the dedicated research team. Each trial aims to optimise treatments and improve health outcomes for the community at large.
While much progress has been made to better understand its underlying causes and manage elevated blood pressure and its consequences, less than 50% of patients diagnosed with hypertension have adequately controlled blood pressure.
Why this research matters?
40%
Have their hypertension under control
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Hypertension in Australia, 2026. Estimates based on 2022 data.
63%
Did not report knowing they had hypertension
7,200,000
Australian adults have hypertension
Know your Numbers
High blood pressure often has no noticeable symptoms. The only way to know whether your blood pressure is elevated is to have it measured.
Ask your GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional to check your blood pressure and explain what your numbers mean.