A new year is nearly here and with it will come the usual renewed focus by patients on improving their health. What have we learned over this past year to help patients lower their risk of heart disease and improve their heart health? Perhaps the most recent piece of information is that lower is better. Blood pressure, that is, and earlier treatment brings benefit. The 2017 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults defines a normal blood pressure as <120/<80 mm Hg and a blood pressure between 120-129/<80 mm Hg as elevated.1 The new cut-off for hypertension is <130/80 mm Hg. Along with the new categories, there’s a strong emphasis on risk assessment and lifestyle interventions as the initial treatment in a large proportion of these patients.
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