Health officials say around 12 million Vietnamese people, or about one in every five, currently suffer from high blood pressure.

The announcement was made at a conference held by the General Department of Preventive Medicine under Vietnam’s Ministry of Health in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The deputy head of the department said smoking, alcohol, inadequate nutrition and lack of physical exercise contributed largely to the alarming figure.

According to a survey conducted by the ministry of health, up to 60 percent of the estimated 12 million people have not been diagnosed and over 80 percent have not been treated.

At the same time, up to 79 percent of people at risk from cardiovascular diseases have not sought professional help.

Hypertension is the leading cause of strokes and heart attacks that cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and disabilities every year.

– with other agencies