Elevated blood pressure remains the single biggest risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease and mortality. May Measurement Month is an annual global screening campaign aiming to improve awareness of blood pressure at the individual and population level. Adults (≥18 years) recruited through opportunistic sampling were screened at sites in 92 countries during May 2019. Ideally, 3 blood pressure readings were measured for each participant, and data on lifestyle factors and comorbidities were collected. Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, or a diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg (mean of the second and third readings) or taking antihypertensive medication. When necessary, multiple imputation was used to estimate participants’ mean blood pressure. Mixed-effects models were used to evaluate associations between blood pressure and participant characteristics. Of 1 508 130 screenees 482 273 (32.0%) had never had a blood pressure measurement before and 513 337 (34.0%) had hypertension, of whom 58.7% were aware, and 54.7% were on antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 57.8% were controlled to <140/90 mm Hg, and 28.9% to <130/80 mm Hg. Of all those with hypertension, 31.7% were controlled to <140/90 mm Hg, and 350 825 (23.3%) participants had untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. Of those taking antihypertensive medication, half were taking only a single drug, and 25% reported using aspirin inappropriately. This survey is the largest ever synchronized and standardized contemporary compilation of global blood pressure data. This campaign is needed as a temporary substitute for systematic blood pressure screening in many countries worldwide.

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Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. A recently conducted study on 1.3 million adults in India showed the prevalence of hypertension to be 25.3%. Raised BP is responsible for 8.5% of the total Disability Adjusted Life Years and is also an important contributor to cardiovascular disease which is the leading cause of deaths in the country. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in May 2017. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. The study was conducted in over 500 screening sites across the country and involved over 5000 volunteers. Screening sites included health facilities such as hospitals and clinics, as well as a variety of public spaces. A total of 240 376 individuals were screened during MMM17. Out of the 122 685 screenees for whom all three BP readings were available, 38 974 (31.8%) had hypertension based on the mean of second and third reading. Of individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 21 679 (17.7%) were hypertensive. Of individuals receiving antihypertensive medication, 14 203 (82.6%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest collaborative BP screening campaign undertaken in India with involvement of the public as well as the private sector. Over two-thirds of the individuals on antihypertensive treatment had uncontrolled BP. Approximately one-fifth of the participants had raised BP and were not on antihypertensive treatment prior to the study. These results suggest that opportunistic screening can identify significant numbers with raised BP.