Lowering target blood pressure would save lives and money

For me, losing 5 pounds reduced my systolic blood pressure from 135 to 120 or less. Gaining a few pounds causes it to go up.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/cumc-ltb051316.php

Public Release: 15-May-2016
Lowering target blood pressure would save lives and money
Study findings could lead to new hypertension treatment guidelines for high-risk patients
Columbia University Medical Center

Lowering blood pressure goals for adults at high risk of cardiovascular disease could save tens of thousands of lives annually and reduce costs,

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The results complement recent evidence from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), which found that having a more intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) goal of 120 mmHg in patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease reduced both cardiovascular events and mortality by about one quarter, compared with the current goal of 140 mmHg.

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The study found that lowering treatment goals for this population in the JNC8 guidelines would prevent up to 43,000 additional deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. Adding more intensive goals to the JNC7 guidelines would prevent an additional 35,000 deaths.

The study also revealed that adding the lower SBP goals to the JNC7 and JNC8 guidelines would decrease overall treatment costs for men and would be cost-effective (representing a good value) compared with standard treatment in women.

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