Key Summary
- NHS high blood pressure page saw massive visits in 2025, jumping from 30th to 2nd most viewed condition.
- Millions in England have “silent” high blood pressure without knowing it, risking stroke and heart attack.
- The NHS is expanding free checks in pharmacies and community settings to catch it early.
There was a surge of visitors to the NHS webpage on high blood pressure last year, and it was the second most visited health condition on NHS.uk in 2025, up from 30th position in 2024.
The webpage saw over two million visits, or a click every 15 second, and rose 36 per cent from 1.5 million visits the preceding year.
The visitors sought trusted NHS advice on high blood pressure and sought online information on risk and how to get checked.
High blood pressure is one of the common and “silent killer” health conditions found among people in the UK.
Nearly 4.1 million people in England live unaware of this health issue, which has the potential to result in stroke and heart attacks.
To provide easy access to blood pressure checks, around 100,000 NHS Health Checks are carried out each month, and most pharmacies are now offering free blood pressure checks for people who are eligible.
NHS teams are also trialling blood pressure checks at dentist and optometry appointments and taking them into the heart of communities, including checks in barbershops and mosques.
“When we are flooded with unregulated online content and AI-generated summaries, it’s reassuring that more people are turning to the NHS website for trusted advice on high blood pressure,” commented national medical director for NHS England, Dr Claire Fuller.
Regina Giblin, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, added, “Simple steps like being active and cutting down on foods high in fat, salt and sugar can make a big difference, and medication can help if needed. Checking your blood pressure or cholesterol level is quick and easy and it could be one of the most important things you do for your heart health.”
Covid-19 was the most searched illness, while chickenpox, urinary tract infection, high cholesterol, shingles, etc. were some of the highly searched health concerns on the NHS website.
