Death rates from hypertensive kidney disease have increased by 48% in the United States over the past 25 years, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2025. The analysis of CDC WONDER database data from 1999 to 2023 reveals persistent and concerning disparities across racial, ethnic, gender and geographic lines. The research analyzed 274,667 deaths attributed to hypertensive renal disease among individuals aged 15 and older between 1999 and 2023. The age-adjusted mortality rate increased from 3.3 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 4.91 per 100,000 in 2023.
The study found that Black individuals had the highest mortality rates at 10.37 deaths per 100,000 people, more than three times the rates observed in other racial groups. Hispanic individuals showed a 15% higher age-adjusted mortality rate compared to non-Hispanic individuals. Men experienced significantly higher death rates than women, and the Southern United States demonstrated the highest regional burden, with Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Mississippi showing particularly elevated rates. These trends occur despite national efforts to reduce health inequalities and highlight hypertension as the second leading cause of end-stage kidney disease.
Dr. Joiven Nyongbella, the study's lead researcher, emphasized that "high blood pressure isn't just about strokes or heart attacks - it's also a major cause of kidney disease and death, especially in Black and Hispanic communities." The findings align with recent clinical guidelines from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology that stress the importance of early hypertension treatment and its direct connection to kidney disease. Additional information about hypertension and kidney health is available through the American Heart Association's educational resources at https://www.heart.org.
Study limitations include reliance on death certificate data, which may contain errors in cause-of-death reporting, and the absence of individual health factors such as access to care, medication use and dietary patterns. The findings, presented as an abstract, are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The research underscores the urgent need to address systemic factors contributing to these disparities, particularly in communities of color and specific geographic regions where the burden of hypertensive kidney disease mortality remains disproportionately high.
