These Drugs Save Lives, But Millions of Eligible Americans Aren’t Taking Them - Gizmodo

What the report says

Gizmodo reported that new research published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association estimates a major gap in treatment for U.S. adults who qualify for blood pressure-lowering medicine. The article, by Ed Cara and published July 29, 2026, says researchers using nationally representative survey data found that about 22 million adults are eligible for hypertension drugs under updated American Heart Association guidance, but close to half are not taking them.

The study analyzed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2009 to 2018, according to Gizmodo. Researchers estimated that roughly 81 million U.S. adults have hypertension, and that around 23 million would be newly eligible for medication under the latest guidelines. Of those newly eligible adults, about 13 million were already receiving treatment, while 9.7 million, or 43%, were not using any blood pressure medication.

A key change in the updated guidance is the use of the PREVENT risk calculator, developed to estimate 10- and 30-year cardiovascular disease risk for adults ages 30 to 79 without known cardiovascular disease. Gizmodo reported that the tool is meant to reflect factors such as kidney and metabolic health that may not have been fully captured in older approaches.

The researchers estimated that broader use of blood pressure-lowering drugs could avert about 200,000 deaths from any cause and 162,000 cardiovascular deaths in the United States over 10 years. They also noted that medication is not a substitute for lifestyle measures such as exercise and reduced sodium intake. The findings matter because hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems, and untreated cases may represent preventable harm.