A newly issued guideline by the American Heart Association that categorizes adults with blood pressure of 130/80 as hypertensive (high blood pressure) compared to the old standard of 140/90, increasing the number of subjects for whom treatment plans should be initiated to 46% of the American adult population. This new guideline will largely pertain to adults in their 40s who have creeping elevated blood pressure.
Under guidelines issued 14 years ago, only 32% of American adults were considered hypertensive.
Don’t jump to conclusions
Before American adults who take their blood pressure at home and suddenly find their blood pressure numbers exceed the new 130/80 mark and then run to the doctor’s office for prescription pills to control their blood pressure, they need to know about age-adjusted blood pressure.
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(For reference, the first blood pressure number is the pumping or systolic pressure and the second number is the resting or diastolic number. Low blood pressure is below 90/60.)
What the newly issued report didn’t say is that age-adjusted risk assessment suggests higher blood pressure numbers can be tolerated without increased risk for death.
Age-adjusted data, reported by researchers at UCLA a few years back show any risk for death from uncontrolled hypertension doesn’t start till blood pressure is 160/90 or more among adults 55 years of age or older.
So if you are adult over age 55, you need not have fear of dying because your blood…