Is high blood pressure at 25 normal?

It is common, but it is not something to ignore. CDC data from 2021 to 2023 show 23.4% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 39 have hypertension at the 130/80 mm Hg definition. A diagnosis before age 30 is also one of the signs that leads doctors to check for an underlying cause.

Can birth control pills cause high blood pressure?

They can. MedlinePlus lists estrogens, including birth control pills, among the medicines that can cause high blood pressure, and NHLBI lists hormonal birth control pills too. Have your blood pressure checked while you take them, and talk with your prescriber before you stop.

Can stimulant medicines or energy drinks raise blood pressure?

MedlinePlus lists amphetamines and caffeine, including the caffeine in energy drinks, among substances that can cause high blood pressure. NHLBI also lists stimulants. Tell your doctor what you take so the readings can be judged with that in mind. Do not stop a prescribed medicine by yourself.

How often should adults under 40 get their blood pressure checked?

MedlinePlus says all adults aged 18 or older should have blood pressure checked periodically. It says yearly checks are recommended from age 40, and that less often may be fine for some people aged 18 to 39. People with past high readings or risk factors may need more frequent checks.

Can high blood pressure in your 20s go away?

It can improve when the cause is fixable. Examples are a drug that raises blood pressure, weight gain, heavy drinking, or a treatable condition such as sleep apnea or primary aldosteronism. Primary hypertension usually needs long-term attention, so keep checking your readings even after they come down.

What Causes High Blood Pressure in Your 20s and 30s?

The short answer: Most high blood pressure in your 20s and 30s is primary hypertension. It has no single cause. Weight, salt, alcohol, inactivity and family history drive it. A smaller share comes from another condition or a drug, and doctors look harder for those causes when high blood pressure starts young. CDC data show 23.4% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 39 have hypertension, and only 27.2% of them know it.

How common is high blood pressure in your 20s and 30s?

It is more common than most people expect. The CDC National Center for Health Statistics measured blood pressure in U.S. adults from August 2021 to August 2023. It counted hypertension as a reading of 130/80 mm Hg or higher, or current use of blood pressure medicine.

By that definition, 23.4% of adults aged 18 to 39 had hypertension. The figure was 52.5% at ages 40 to 59 and 71.6% at age 60 and older.

Young adults are the least likely to know. Among those aged 18 to 39 with hypertension:

27.2% were aware of it, compared with 73.7% of those aged 60 and older.
13.9% were taking medicine for it.
4.5% had blood pressure below 130/80 mm Hg.

Awareness was lower in young men (23.3%) than in young women (34.6%). The 130/80 threshold is lower than the old 140/90 line. We explain it in is a blood pressure of 130/80 a problem?

What causes most high blood pressure at this age?

Most of the time, no single cause is found. MedlinePlus calls this essential hypertension. Doctors also call it primary hypertension. Several factors add up.

MedlinePlus and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) list these risk factors:

Weight: overweight and obesity.
Salt: a diet high in salt and low in potassium.
Alcohol: more than 1 drink a day for women or 2 for men.
Inactivity: too little physical activity.
Family history: high blood pressure often runs in families.
Sleep: too little good-quality sleep.
Tobacco: smoking or other tobacco use.

NHLBI adds two points that matter for young adults. Men are more likely than women to develop high blood pressure through middle age. Black adults tend to get high blood pressure earlier in life.

Stress is on both lists. It is one factor among several.

When do doctors look for another cause?

High blood pressure caused by another condition or a drug is called secondary hypertension. A 2017 review in American Family Physician says 5% to 10% of people with hypertension may have a secondary cause.

The same review lists the signs that point to one:

Onset before age 30.
Severe or resistant hypertension.
A sudden rise from readings that were stable.
Malignant or accelerated hypertension.

So a diagnosis in your 20s is itself a reason to look. A 2024 review adds a detail. The suspicion is stronger when a person under 30 has no family history and no other risk factors.

A lean 24-year-old with no family history and a reading of 160/100 gets a different workup from a 38-year-old who has gained weight and has two parents on blood pressure medicine.

Which conditions cause high blood pressure in young adults?

These are the main conditions doctors consider:

Kidney disease. Damaged kidneys remove less fluid, and extra fluid raises blood pressure, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Narrowed kidney arteries. In young adults the usual reason is fibromuscular dysplasia, an abnormal growth of cells in the artery wall. MedlinePlus says it is typically seen in women under age 50 and tends to run in families. An age-based review calls it one of the most common secondary causes in young adults, particularly women.
Primary aldosteronism. One or both adrenal glands make too much aldosterone, a hormone that makes the body hold salt. The 2025 Endocrine Society guideline calls it a common cause of hypertension that is markedly underdiagnosed.
Thyroid disease. NHLBI lists thyroid problems among the conditions that can cause high blood pressure. Our sibling site thyroid.md covers thyroid testing.
Obstructive sleep apnea. Loud snoring and daytime sleepiness are the usual clues. See can sleep apnea cause high blood pressure?
Coarctation of the aorta. This is a narrowing of the main artery that is present from birth. MedlinePlus says it is most often diagnosed in children or adults under age 40. Blood pressure is usually higher in the arms than in the legs.
Rare adrenal conditions. MedlinePlus lists pheochromocytoma and Cushing syndrome.

Pregnancy is a separate case. High blood pressure in pregnancy, including preeclampsia, needs its own care.

Which drugs and substances raise blood pressure in young adults?

Drugs and substances are a common and fixable cause at this age. MedlinePlus lists these among the substances that can cause high blood pressure:

Stimulants: amphetamines, cocaine and MDMA.
Birth control pills and other estrogens.
NSAID pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen.
Nasal decongestants and many cough and cold medicines.
Caffeine, including the caffeine in energy drinks.
Nicotine.
Testosterone, anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
Some antidepressants, including venlafaxine and bupropion.
Phentermine, a weight loss medicine.
Black licorice and some herbal products, such as ephedra and yohimbe.

Tell your doctor about all of them, including supplements and gym products. Do not stop a prescription medicine by yourself. Our guide to over-the-counter medicines that raise blood pressure gives the numbers for NSAIDs and decongestants.

Which tests might a doctor order?

The first step is to confirm the reading. MedlinePlus says a provider measures blood pressure several times before a diagnosis. It adds that the provider should ask for home or out-of-office readings before a final diagnosis.

The basic workup looks for causes and for early damage:

Blood tests: a basic metabolic panel, cholesterol and a diabetes check.
Kidney tests: NIDDK names two, a blood test for filtering rate (GFR) and a urine test for albumin.
Heart tests: an electrocardiogram or an echocardiogram.

Further tests depend on the clues:

Aldosterone and renin. The Endocrine Society guideline suggests this blood test for all people with hypertension. That is a conditional suggestion, and practice varies.
Imaging of the kidney arteries. MedlinePlus lists Doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography. The age-based review names CT and MRI for fibromuscular dysplasia.
Arm and leg pulses and pressures. This simple exam checks for coarctation. An echocardiogram is the most common test to confirm it.
A sleep study if the history points to sleep apnea.

Why does high blood pressure in your 20s and 30s matter later?

Blood pressure before age 40 predicts heart disease and stroke in middle age. The best evidence is a 2018 JAMA analysis of the CARDIA study. It followed 4,851 adults who enrolled at ages 18 to 30, for a median of 18.8 years.

The researchers grouped people by their highest blood pressure before age 40. They compared each group with people whose readings stayed below 120/80. After adjustment for other risk factors:

Stage 1 hypertension (130 to 139 systolic or 80 to 89 diastolic) carried 1.75 times the risk of a cardiovascular event.
Stage 2 hypertension (140/90 or higher, or on medicine) carried 3.49 times the risk.

The absolute numbers were small. The cohort had 228 events. The rate was 1.37 per 1,000 person-years with normal blood pressure and 8.04 with stage 2 hypertension.

The study is observational. It shows a link. It does not prove that treatment in your 20s prevents those events. For stage 1 readings in people with no other risk factors, MedlinePlus says a provider may recommend lifestyle changes first and repeat the measurements after a few months.

The bottom line

High blood pressure in your 20s and 30s is common and mostly undiagnosed. About 1 in 4 adults aged 18 to 39 meets the 130/80 definition, and about 1 in 4 of those knows it. Weight, salt, alcohol, inactivity and family history explain most cases. Onset before age 30, very high readings, or readings that do not respond to treatment are reasons to look for a kidney, hormone, artery or drug cause. Get a high reading confirmed, list every drug and supplement you take, and ask which tests fit your case.

Last updated: October 2026. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Talk with your doctor about high blood pressure readings, testing, and any change to a medicine you take.