Estimated Effects of BP Lowering with JNC 8 vs. SPRINT Goals

The 2014 Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) guidelines set blood pressure (BP)-lowering goals of <150/90 mm Hg for adults aged ≥60 years and <140/90 mm Hg for adults <60 years and those with diabetes or chronic kidney disease (NEJM JW Gen Med Jan 15 2014 and JAMA 2014; 311:507). In the subsequently published SPRINT trial, high-risk patients randomized to a systolic BP goal of <120 mm Hg had significantly lower rates of major cardiovascular events than those randomized to a goal of <140 mm Hg (NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2015 and N Engl J Med 2015; 373:2103). Now, investigators used national data (predating JNC 8 and SPRINT) from >80,000 people in Korea to estimate how many hypertensive adults would meet BP-lowering goals under each set of c…