Reduce systolic pressure to 12, well below current recommendations of 14 or less for those over 50, 15 for those over 60, and 13 for people with kidney disease or diabetes. would be essential for the cardiovascular health of patients.
the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial(Sprint), is a large clinical trial conducted since 2009 with more than 9,300 non-diabetic men and women aged 50 and over. Its goal, to analyze the benefits of a treatment against high blood pressure aimed at lowering systolic blood pressure.
The conclusions of this clinical trial revealed that reducing the systolic pressure to 12 (120 millimeters of mercury) or less reduces the risk of infarction, heart failure or stroke by 24%.
“We have seen significant improvements in the cardiovascular health in only three years of follow-up and these results could be even more spectacular over ten or thirty years, if this treatment is maintained”, according to Dr Cheung.
“While new official recommendations could take months or longer, the clinical trial indicates that more than 16.8 million Americans or 7.6% of the population could already be recommended this aggressive new approach. “, say these researchers.
Hypertension, a very common disease
The results of this study could concern more than 10 million people in France affected by hypertension. Usually the blood pressure – the blood pressure in the arteries – is around 12/8 cmHg (centimeters of mercury). The first number corresponds to the blood pressure measured during the relaxation phase of the heart (diastolic pressure). The second number, the measurement taken during the contraction phase of the heart (systolic pressure). When the tension remains high permanently, beyond 14/9 cmHg, one speaks of arterial hypertension.
Untreated, hypertension can cause many complications: stroke, heart attack, heart or kidney failure, retinopathy, arteriosclerosis, erectile dysfunction…
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