The stricter, the better
Researchers at Tulane University assessed the impact of the new clinical guidelines of the American College of Cardiology and the American Association of Heart Diseases 2017 (2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association hypertension guidelines) on the health of U.S. adults. Previously, pressure below 140/90 mmHg was considered normal. New clinical guidelines abolished prehypertension, now blood pressure above 130/80 mmHg is considered high and requires treatment in the form of lifestyle changes, and in some patients – with medication. According to the new classification, there are 31 million more hypertensive patients in the United States, and 11 million more now need hypotensive therapy.
According to the study, 105.3 million (more than 45%) American adults over the age of 20 have hypertension according to the new guidelines, compared with 74 million (32%) by the old standards. The greatest difference appeared among persons of both sexes aged 40 to 59 years and in men at any age.
Hypertension treatment is recommended for more than 83 million adults, compared with 72 million according to previous recommendations. Lowering the normal limit to 130/90 mmHg will additionally help to avoid 340,000 cardiovascular events and 156,000 deaths per year. In total, taking into account the new recommendations, the number of deaths among adults over 40 years old will decrease by 334,000 per year, the number of cardiovascular diseases will decrease by 640,000.
The new guidelines for the management of patients with high blood pressure will have the greatest effect among people over the age of 60 with high cardiovascular risk, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. According to the new principles, an additional 12 million adults with hypertension aged 60 years and older need to start antihypertensive treatment, and 19 million need to strengthen therapy.
The new guidance will significantly increase the prevalence of hypertension in the U.S. and the world, but it will help save thousands of lives every year because more patients will start treatment on time.
Article by J. D. Bundy et al. Estimating the Association of the 2017 and 2014 Hypertension Guidelines With Cardiovascular Events and Deaths in US Adults is published in the journal JAMA Cardiology.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru According to Tulane University: Almost 36 percent of US adults recommended for blood pressure treatment under new guidelines.