New Guidelines for Blood Pressure
New Guidelines for Blood Pressure – The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Society of Hypertension, have issued new guidelines for patients with heart disease or at risk for it. They were published March 31 in the journal Hypertension.
Dr. Clive Rosendorff, chairman of the committee that wrote the updated guidelines, says that the new guidelines are much more flexible than the ones issued in 2007, and says that blood pressure goals should be determined by the doctor and patient, after looking at age and other health factors.
According to the new guidelines, the target blood pressure goal for people at risk for heart attack and stroke should be less than 140/90 mm Hg, and 130/80 mm Hg for those with heart disease who have already had a heart attack, stroke or a ministroke, or who have had a narrowing of their leg arteries or an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
The guidelines also recommend drugs to use for lowering blood pressure in heart disease patients. These include beta-blockers that slow the heart rate and reduce the force of cardiac contraction and also increase blood flow to the heart. They also recommend angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), which increase the size of blood vessels, thus lowering blood pressure, and diuretics that lower blood pressure by reducing the amount of fluid in the body.
Rosendorff says the committee is currently working on new guidelines for those with high blood pressure but do not have heart disease.
Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a professor of cardiology at the Yale School of Medicine, minor elevations in blood pressure are best treated with lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise.
Category: News
