New AHA & ACC Guidelines - High Blood Pressure Now 130/80?

[GreenEyedBlonde]

Comments anyone?

 

[charlie]

 

[ecstatichamster]

Big pharma is a powerful lobbying force.

 

[Mito]

What the New Blood Pressure Guidelines Mean for You

“The percentage of Americans with high blood pressure jumped from 32 percent to 46 percent today, when the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology issued new guidelines for the condition.”

“Drug treatment to lower blood pressure is only associated with a reduced risk of death and cardiovascular disease in people whose baseline systolic blood pressure is 140 or higher, according to a review of the research published Monday in the medical journal JAMA; there’s no strong evidence that such pills will help people with lower numbers.”

“And many of the drugs used to treat high blood pressure carry risks, including dizziness and impaired kidney function. When doctors work to reduce the blood pressure of elderly patients too aggressively, for example, they put those patients at a “heightened risk for falls and fractures,” says Steven Nissen, M.D., chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.”

 

[Seleniodine]

Ha, beat me to the punch. Just saw this on this morning's news, was just about to post the story.
Of course, no nuance to it, so it's the same if you're 30 years old or 50 years old. Other health factors such as weight, fitness levels etc are
seemingly ignored. Just another reason to not go to the doctor! Looking for an excuse to put you on drugs.. A friend of mine in is on three blood
pressure meds with only slightly elevated BP... He quit alcohol for a week and his BP dropped 10 points... Has cut his "x-forge" dosage in half
for now (with his doctor's approval). I wonder if he'll get a call to increase it again!

 

[tca300]

Definitely.
In fact they have done the same thing with glucose levels in the blood. My grandmother had a glucose of 101 and her doctor was relentless with " if you dont take invokana or another similar drug you will die! " So now she takes it because of fear mongering, and greed.

 

[dfspcc20]

Definitely.
In fact they have done the same thing with glucose levels in the blood. My grandmother had a glucose of 101 and her doctor was relentless with " if you dont take invokana or another similar drug you will die! " So now she takes it because of fear mongering, and greed.

My 68 year old mother was told something similar about her whopping total cholesterol of 220. She already has health issues, so I'm afraid what will happen if/when they coerce her to take statins.

 

[marcar72]

Yep! +1

 

[tca300]

My 68 year old mother was told something similar about her whopping total cholesterol of 220. She already has health issues, so I'm afraid what will happen if/when they coerce her to take statins.

Jeeeeze.
Oh ya! I almost forget, same experience with the same grandmother, her cholesterol was bairly over 200 ( @ 75 years old ) and that same doctor threatened her with a "early death is certain , if you dont lower that cholesterol ".

 

[Seleniodine]

Wow... Great "bedside manner" from that doc! Scaring old ladies with misinformation.. How do these guys sleep at night?
Some of the guidelines related to "lifestyle changes" are not unreasonable... But many people will probably just opt for the BP med prescription as the easy way out....

Jeeeeze.
Oh ya! I almost forget, same experience with the same grandmother, her cholesterol was bairly over 200 ( @ 75 years old ) and that same doctor threatened her with a "early death is certain , if you dont lower that cholesterol ".

 

[Seleniodine]

Here is a link to a NY Times article about the new guidelines and research findings.

Under New Guidelines, Millions More Americans Will Need to Lower Blood Pressure

Some quotes from the article:

"Under the guidelines, formulated by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the number of men under age 45 with a diagnosis of high blood pressure will triple, and the prevalence among women under age 45 will double."

"The number of adults with high blood pressure, or hypertension, will rise to 103 million from 72 million under the previous standard. But the number of people who are new candidates for drug treatment will rise only by an estimated 4.2 million people, he said. To reach the goals others may have to take more drugs or increase the dosages."

"Nearly half of all American adults, and nearly 80 percent of those aged 65 and older, will find that they qualify and will need to take steps to reduce their blood pressure."

Also here is a link to a handy calculator to check your BP in more context :

"That calculation must be individualized, and experts are recommending that patients use a calculator developed by the guidelines committee at ccccalculator.ccctracker.com."

 

[tca300]

Wow... Great "bedside manner" from that doc! Scaring old ladies with misinformation.. How do these guys sleep at night?
Some of the guidelines related to "lifestyle changes" are not unreasonable... But many people will probably just opt for the BP med prescription as the easy way out....

Wow! Read my mind. Not hating on my grandmother, but she is all about pills over changing her ways.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Older people need higher blood pressure apparently.
Factors Associated with Paradoxical Survival at Higher Blood Pressures in the Very Old | American Journal of Epidemiology | Oxford Academic

In a previous report, the authors demonstrated improved 10-year survival with increasing diastolic blood pressure in men (but not in women) aged 75 years and older in the Rancho Bernardo Chronic Disease Study (Br Med J 1989; 298: 1356–7). However, few of the covariates which could potentially explain this effect were obtained at the visit used in that analysis. In an effort to confirm these reports of paradoxical survival and to explore possible reasons for them, the authors analyzed all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in 795 men and women aged 75–96 years (mean, 80.6), evaluated in 1984–1987 and followed prospectively for an average of 3 years after that comprehensive examination. Of 63 deaths, 48 (76%) were in men; 43 (68%) of all deaths were cardiovascular. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed a significant trend for improved survival with increasing diastolic pressure in men aged 80 years and older versus all-cause mortality (x2p ≤ 0.01), and cardiovascular mortality (x2p ≤ 0.00). These trends were not evident in men aged less than 80 years or in women in either age group. Results were not explained by differences in the use of antihypertensive medication, pulse pressure, history of hypertension, history of coronary heart disease, isolated systolic hypertension, interval change in diastolic pressure (over an average of 12 years), or by cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, smoking, or body mass index. Thus, the paradoxical relation of improved all-cause pill cardiovascular survival in men aged 80 years or older with higher diastolic pressure is not explained by a wide range of biologic and historical factors. Am J Epidemiol 1991; 134: 29–38.



And tight control does not lower all cause mortality, e.g. extend life.
Tight Blood Pressure Control and Cardiovascular Outcomes Among Hypertensive Patients With Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease

The all-cause mortality rate was 11.0% in the tight-control group vs 10.2% in the usual-control group (adjusted HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.99–1.45; P=.06); however, when extended follow-up was included, risk of all-cause mortality was 22.8% in the tight control vs 21.8% in the usual control group (adjusted HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01–1.32; P=.04).

 

[Lyn]

Lovely!

Somewhere I read that the Germans treat LOW blood pressure with drugs. I did find mention of this:

What's wrong with you? It depends where you live

Germany: low blood pressure
Regarded as a sign of excellent health elsewhere, in Germany low blood pressure is seen as a disease responsible for weakness and fatigue and is treated with drugs to boost it. Chronic low blood pressure is said to cause tiredness, giddiness, black-outs, anxiety and sweating. It is known as "constitutional hypotension" in German medical textbooks, but the diagnosis is not well accepted elsewhere.

 

[Blossom]

According to this recent press release it looks like physicians in the US are getting some push back and want the public to know they are not solely responsible for the change.
Lower BP Targets: It's Not All Up to Physicians

 

[GreenEyedBlonde]

It smacks of Big Pharma to me!

 

[Blossom]

It smacks of Big Pharma to me!

Yep.

 

[Lyn]

Here is a link to a NY Times article about the new guidelines and research findings.

Under New Guidelines, Millions More Americans Will Need to Lower Blood Pressure

Some quotes from the article:

"Under the guidelines, formulated by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the number of men under age 45 with a diagnosis of high blood pressure will triple, and the prevalence among women under age 45 will double."

"The number of adults with high blood pressure, or hypertension, will rise to 103 million from 72 million under the previous standard. But the number of people who are new candidates for drug treatment will rise only by an estimated 4.2 million people, he said. To reach the goals others may have to take more drugs or increase the dosages."

"Nearly half of all American adults, and nearly 80 percent of those aged 65 and older, will find that they qualify and will need to take steps to reduce their blood pressure."

Also here is a link to a handy calculator to check your BP in more context :

"That calculation must be individualized, and experts are recommending that patients use a calculator developed by the guidelines committee at ccccalculator.ccctracker.com."

A quote from the article above: "In participants who were assigned to get their systolic pressures below 120, the incidence of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes fell by a third, and the risk of death fell by nearly a quarter."

I wonder if that "third" and "quarter" are relative or absolute percentages. My hunch is that they're relative.

 

[Blossom]

A quote from the article above: "In participants who were assigned to get their systolic pressures below 120, the incidence of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes fell by a third, and the risk of death fell by nearly a quarter."

I wonder if that "third" and "quarter" are relative or absolute percentages. My hunch is that they're relative.

I too suspect some fuzzy math is involved.

My most benign conspiracy theory is that the medical establishment is simply trying to drum up more business and to do that the masses must be further medicalized and convinced we are ill, ticking time bombs.

If y'all haven't had the chance you might want to check out Ivan Illich. Although his book Medical Nemesis was written in the 70's I think it's even more relevant today than it was back then.

 

[jitsmonkey]

this is that "don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining" thing the ol man was talkin bout