Professor Bryan Williams elected President of the International Society of Hypertension

UCLH Director of Research Professor Bryan Williams has been elected as the next President of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH).

The Society advances research and medical care in hypertension (high blood pressure).

Professor Williams is a distinguished hypertension researcher and clinician, with a particular interest in complex and difficult to control blood pressure and high blood pressure in young people.

At UCLH he is Director of a National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, and is Chair of Medicine at UCL.

He has published widely in the field and has directly contributed to changes in clinical practice globally. He also has a strong record in mentoring and training many younger clinicians and scientists from all over the world.

Professor Williams said: “It is a great personal honour to be elected President of the International Society of Hypertension. To seek the support of colleagues that I have long admired is a humbling experience.

“High blood pressure is the number one cause of preventable death worldwide, and I look forward to working alongside colleagues at ISH to advance the field and help develop its next generation of leaders.”

Professor Williams has previously been President of the British and Irish Hypertension Society and Chairman of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council on Hypertension. His two-year term as President of the ISH will begin in October 2022.

Raised blood pressure is the number one cause of preventable death worldwide. The ISH and the World Hypertension League (WHL) have designated the entire month of May as May Measurement Month (MMM). The month includes World Hypertension Day on 17 May.

MMM will highlight to the public the importance of checking their blood pressure regularly, and motivate governments to work to reduce the global impact of hypertension.