The new guideline for high blood pressure has been released. It comes from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
The new guideline caused controversy, because it adheres to more stringent values than in the past. It is stricter. As an adult, you now have stage 1 hypertension if your systolic blood pressure is 130-139, or your diastolic blood pressure is 80-89. With stage 1 hypertension, you should now take tablets against high blood pressure if your 10-year cardiovascular risk ≥10% or if you have known hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). These are statements that not every doctor will agree with.
Several other experts consider especially in patients 60 years or older—without the presence of risk factors—a systolic blood pressure of 150 or less as okay.
A famous professor writes about this controversy: In the end, doctors will have to decide for themselves how to incorporate these conflicting perspectives into daily practice. But he underlines that all doctors need to do a better job in measuring blood pressure, and that doctors need to support patients so that many more patients can correctly monitor their blood pressure at their homes.
And please do not forget: Tablets cannot work well against high blood pressure if you do not change your lifestyle at all. Live healthier.