International Journal of Academic Health and Medical Research (IJAHMR)   Year: 2021 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 7 | Page No.: 14-25 Critical Evaluation of Hypertension: Diagnosis, Causes, Prevalence, and Treatment in Adults Ihunwo, Confidence Chidera Abstract: Hypertension (or HTN) is a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or greater and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg or greater in subjects who are not taking antihypertensive medication. High blood pressure contributes to the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke (thromboembolic and haemorrhagic) and damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and retina. It is a major cause for cardiovascular complications and diseases leading to death. Approximately more than half of the world's adult population with hypertension are unaware and undiagnosed, and only about half of the ones diagnosed are receiving effective medical and personal care. Hypertension, also known as High Blood Pressure (HBP), leads to the death of at least 9 million people globally, per year. The paper looks at the diagnosis, causes, prevalence and treatment of hypertension in adults. The research design for this paper is both quantitative and qualitative, and data were collection from secondary sources based on content/documentary analysis. Descriptive and narrative approaches form the data analysis. Finding shows that prevalence of hypertension is more on adult population with prevalence rate of 32.9%. Out of this, 40.9% are males while 26% are females. Further finding shows that currently, about 26% of the world's population (972 million people) has hypertension, and the prevalence is projected to increase to 29% by 2025, driven largely by increases in economically developing nations. One of the recommendations of this paper for effective care of hypertension is to create adequate awareness, and when properly done, it is considered as the first step in achieving effective care and treatment.