Pharmacy Daily | New hypertension guide

TREATMENT guidelines for patients with hypertension were this morning unveiled in the Medical Journal of Australia, with the update from a group of clinical experts facilitated by the National Heart Foundation. One major change is the recommendation of a lower target blood pressure (<= 120mm Hg) in high risk patients, reflecting a 2015 trial which showed benefit in a selected high risk population. The guidelines also now recommend confirmation of clinic blood pressure through other measures such as ambulatory and home blood pressure assessment, as these are stronger predictors of outcome in patients with uncomplicated mild hypertension. Professor Gary Jennings from the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute said the guidelines were “adapted for Australian conditions at a time when knowledge of the field has been moving rapidly”. He said the guidelines deal with the paradox that most people who have heart attacks or strokes caused by elevated blood pressure do not meet the conventional definition of hypertension. Jennings said uncontrolled high blood pressure is “one of the greatest preventable risk factors that contributes significantly to the cardiovascular disease burden”.

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