Systolic blood pressure target: Have we identified the optimal target yet?

Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) and Target Systolic Blood Pressure in Future Hypertension Guidelines.

The Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP, mm Hg) Intervention Trial (SPRINT) showed that targeting SBP <120 mm Hg (intensive treatment, mean SBP: 121.5 mm Hg) versus <140 (standard treatment, mean SBP: 134.6 mm Hg) reduced cardiovascular events 25%. SPRINT has 2 implicit assumptions that could impact future US hypertension guidelines: (1) standard therapy controlled SBP similarly to that in adults with...

The JNC-7 guidelines and the optimal target for systolic blood pressure.

The JNC-7 Guidelines and the Optimal Target for Systolic Blood Pressure To the Editor: The JNC-7 guidelines suggested that diastolic blood pressure (DBP) should not be aggressively lowered below 55 to 60 mm Hg because of possible increase in cardiovascular events associated with lower values (pages 1222 and 1229 of the report).1 This conclusion was mainly derived from results of the Systolic Hy...

Systolic blood pressure target levels: evidence for benefits in stroke.

Target Blood Pressure for Treatment

The guidelines on the management of hypertension released by European and US Task Forces in 2013 and 2014 recommend target blood pressure (BP) levels below 140/90 mm Hg in most hypertensive patients, with higher values (<150/90 mm Hg) in the elderly. However, recent randomized trials as well as new metaanalyses of the available data have obtained results that are not consistent with these recom...

Uncertainty about the systolic blood pressure target in people with diabetes.

The article by Campbell et al 1 on hypertension in people with type 2 diabetes, which appeared in the September 2011 issue of Canadian Family Physician, provides a succinct overview of the topic and important information for family physicians. Our aim is to complement the article by expanding on some management areas where there is uncertainty, specifically the definition of hypertension and th...