How Should We Select Patients for Blood Pressure–Lowering Treatment?

A retrospective study suggests that we should look at overall cardiovascular risk, regardless of baseline BP.

Should treatment to lower blood pressure (BP) be initiated based on baseline BP, overall cardiovascular (CV) risk, or a combination of the two? In a retrospective study, researchers analyzed CV outcomes in a British cohort of 1.2 million primary care patients (age range, 30–79) without baseline CV disease. They calculated how CV outcomes would have changed with one of four selection strategies for BP-lowering treatment:

BP >140/90 mm Hg alone
BP >140/90 mm Hg plus either CV risk score >20% (on QRISK2) or known diabetes or renal disease; or BP >160/90 mm Hg alone
BP >140/90 mm Hg plus CV risk score >10%
CV risk score >10% alone

More patients were eligible for treatment based on high BP alone than with any of the other strategies (39% vs. 22%, 27%…

Reviewing Author

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

How Should We Select Patients for Blood Pressure–Lowering Treatment?

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Reviewing Author