How Tightly Should Blood Pressure Be Controlled?

A post hoc analysis from the Cardio-Sis trial suggests a benefit of lowering BP to <130 mm Hg, whether or not an initially hypertensive, nondiabetic patient has cardiovascular disease.

The assumption that high-risk patients benefit from tight blood pressure (BP) control has been disputed. To clarify, researchers assessed the prognostic value of tight (<130 mm Hg) and standard (<140 mm Hg) control of systolic BP among nondiabetic, initially hypertensive patients with or without baseline cardiovascular disease (CVD; 216 and 895, respectively) who had been randomized to one of the two BP-control approaches in the industry-sponsored Cardio-Sis trial (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 27 2009). Antihypertensive treatment was open-label and tailored individually.

At baseline, within each randomized group, BP did not differ significantly between patients with CVD and those without CVD. Not surprisingly, systolic BP decreased to a greater exten…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

How Tightly Should Blood Pressure Be Controlled?

Topics

Reviewing Author