New Blood Pressure Guidelines: Raising (Lowering) The Bar
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology came out with new Blood Pressure Guidelines last Monday.
If you have heart disease, chronic kidney disease or diabetes, then your target now for systolic blood pressure has moved down to 130 and for diastolic blood pressure to 80. Same goes if your 10-year risk of having a heart attack or stroke is greater than 10 percent (determined by a calculator found here).
If you don’t have one of these risk factors, you are still advised to keep your blood pressure below 140/90, as before. Why change the numbers? Studies show that by bringing people’s blood pressure down a bit more, we can save lives. This means more people will be advised to take blood pressure medication, along with losing weight and eating better.
I don’t have a problem with people keeping their blood pressure down. I see it all the time with folks when they cut down on carbs and lose weight. Moderate exercise and developing a meditation practice also help. Medication can be life saver for those unwilling to make the necessary changes, and sometimes even for those who do but have a longer way to go.