BMJ  2007;335:408-409 (1 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39310.540683.80

Editorials

Reassessing normal blood pressure

Blood pressure should be evaluated and treated in the context of overall cardiovascular risk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with mortality exceeding that for the traditional scourges of infectious diseases, trauma, and malnutrition.¹ Evidence suggests that most of the burden of disease is caused by unfavourable levels of several easily identified risk factors: arterial blood pressure, blood lipids, glucose concentrations, body mass index, tobacco use, and physical activity.²

Outcomes can be improved by selective interventions that drive risk factors towards optimum levels, but important questions remain about which risk factors should be treated, in which patients, to what levels, and by what means. The study in this week's BMJ by Conen and colleagues³ helps to answer some of these questions. It compares cardiovascular risk over two years in women with high normal blood pressure (130-139/85-89 mm Hg) to those with normal blood pressure (120-129/75-84 mm Hg) and those with baseline hypertension. It found that women with . . . [Full text of this article]

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Box 1118, New York, NY 10029, USA

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Related Articles

Here's to risk assessment

Jonathan D Sleath
BMJ 2007 335: 577-578. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Risk of cardiovascular events among women with high normal blood pressure or blood pressure progression: prospective cohort study

David Conen, Paul M Ridker, Julie E Buring, and Robert J Glynn
BMJ 2007 335: 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Risk factor thresholds: their existence under scrutiny

M R Law and N J Wald
BMJ 2002 324: 1570-1576. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Sleath, J. D (2007). Here's to risk assessment. BMJ 335: 577-578 [Full text]  
• (2007). High-Normal Blood Pressure Is Associated with Cardiovascular Risk in Women. JWatch Emergency Med. 2007: 3-3 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

From blood pressure measurements to clinical decisions

Tom P Marshall
bmj.com, 2 Sep 2007 [Full text]

Three cheers for risk assessment

Jonathan D Sleath
bmj.com, 3 Sep 2007 [Full text]

Treat cardiovascular risk not blood pressure: leading from the front-line

Paul D Rutter
bmj.com, 3 Sep 2007 [Full text]

High Diastolics May Be "Good"

John S Morley
bmj.com, 4 Sep 2007 [Full text]