This week we publish two studies that, taken together, may herald a new era of blood pressure management. So say our editorialists Richard McManus and Jonathan Mant (doi:10.1136/bmj.b940). The studies challenge the current orthodoxy, which is still that antihypertensive treatment should be titrated against regular blood pressure measurements. If acted on, these studies will simplify how we manage cardiovascular risk, with antihypertensive treatment being offered regardless of blood pressure, with less frequent blood pressure monitoring, and with checking for adverse events as the main focus of medical care.

The first paper, by Malcolm Law and colleagues, represents an enormous amount of work (doi:10.1136/bmj.b1665 …