BMJ  2004;329:569 (4 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7465.569

Letter

Guidelines from the British Hypertension Society

Cholesterol values seem to diverge

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

EDITOR—The targets for cholesterol management seem to be ever decreasing, but I cannot get my head around the fact that in the new guidelines from the British Hypertension Society box 8 suggests we should consider treatment if the 10 year risk of cardiovascular disease is > 20% and the total cholesterol level is > 3.5 mmol/l but the target to be attained, which is printed beside box 8, is higher, 4 mmol/l.¹

Can someone explain this anomaly to a simple general practitioner who will have to explain it to patients?

Duncairn Medical Practice, Belfast BT15 2GE duncairn33@yahoo.ie

---

See editorial by Campbell

Competing interests: None declared.

1. Williams B, Poulter NR, Brown MJ, Davis M, McInnes GT, Potter JF, et al. British Hypertension Society guidelines for hypertension management 2004 (BHS-IV): summary. BMJ 2004;328: 634-40. (13 March.)[Free Full Text]

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