Study Could Lead to Changes in High Blood Pressure Treatment
A new study conducted by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center calls into question the commonly accepted medical advice that lower blood pressure is always better.
Dr. Carlos José Rodriguez is an associate professor for medicine and epidemiology at Wake Forest Baptist and is the lead author in the study. He chose to look at systolic blood pressure, which is the force of the blood in the arteries as the heart contracts. It's different from diastolic blood pressure, which is the force of the blood in the arteries as the heart relaxes. So if a person's blood pressure is 120 over 80, systolic is that first number, 120.
Rodriguez says lowering a patient's blood pressure in turn lowers his risk for cardiac events, such as heart attack and stroke. But the new study shows that there is no added health benefit to getting systolic blood pressure below 120.
His study has launched a clinical trial that he says could corroborate his current findings.
“You know this question is very important,” he says. “Because there are added side effects and health care costs to treating people as low as possible. So I think the
answers we look forward to in this critical trial will be very important.”
Dr. Rodriguez says over 78 million people in the United States are plagued with high
blood pressure. These people are diagnosed when their systolic blood pressure reaches
140.
The results of his study suggest the ideal range for patients with high blood pressure
is between 120 and 139. The next step in changing the way patients are treated is by
conducting a clinical trial designed to actively manage patients' blood pressure.
If these results corroborate Dr. Rodriguez's recent study, then patients with high blood
pressure may be placed on fewer medications.
Dr. Rodriguez is participating in the upcoming clinical trial, which is funded by the
National Institute of Health. Published results can be expected in a few years.
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