New Blood Pressure Guidelines
Heart experts released new guidelines for blood pressure recently and that means millions more will now be diagnosed with high blood pressure. Anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 will be considered to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology said in releasing the new joint guidelines on November 13. Its very clear that lower is better, said Dr Paul Whelton of Tulane University, who chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines.
Blood pressure of 120/80 or above is considered elevated; 130/80 to 139/89 is now considered Stage 1 hypertension and anything 140/90 or above will be considered stage 2 hypertension. If blood pressure reaches 180/120 or higher and either number in the blood pressure reading counts people will be classified as in hypertensive crisis with need for immediate treatment or hospitalisation. The new guidelines eliminate an older category of prehypertension, which was used for people with systolic blood pressure between 120-139 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure between 80-89 mmHg.
Previously, people were not considered to have high blood pressure until the top reading hit 140. Normal hasnt changed. We are still saying that it is great and it is normal to have a systolic blood pressure reading below 120 and a diastolic reading under 80, Whelton said.
But instead of recommending drug treatment right away, the organisations recommend that people with stage 1 hypertension try lifestyle changes first: exercising more, eating less salt, getting enough potassium from foods such as bananas, and eating more fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone for treatment of hypertension, said Dr Robert Carey of the University of Virginia, who helped write the guidelines.
While people may be confused by the change, the heart experts said three years of reviewing the research showed that many fewer people die if high blood pressure is treated earlier.
We are comfortable with the recommendations. They are based on strong evidence, Whelton said.
Carey said about 4.2 million more people would be diagnosed with high blood pressure under the new guidelines, but not all of them will be advised to take drugs just 1.9 percent more, he said.
We will have a big jump in prevalence but youll notice only a small increase in the number of people we believe will benefit from hypertensive drugs, Carey said.
High blood pressure damages blood vessels and can lead to organ damage such as kidney and heart failure, as well as heart attacks and stroke. Its one of the leading killers around the world.
Many drugs are used to treat high blood pressure. They include diuretics, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, which attack blood pressure from different directions. The groups agreed that even elderly and frail patients benefit from having high blood pressure treated.
Source: today.com
