Growing up, many of us learned that 140 over 90 is the magic number for blood pressure. If you’re over this figure, your blood pressure is high; if you’re under this figure, you’re maintaining healthy levels. What you might not know is that evidence emerged that has completely abolished this standard. In 2015, a study known as the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The trial revealed some eye-opening data regarding high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.
The main takeaway is that individuals who maintained a blood pressure level of 120 over 80 or below, as opposed to a level of 140 over 90, had a much lower risk of developing a cardiovascular condition such as stroke, heart attack or heart failure. This led the medical community to adopt the new figure of 120 over 80 as the healthy standard for blood pressure. Depending on the margin by which a patient is over this figure, physicians may prescribe several solutions. If a patient’s blood pressure is in the range of 120-129 over a number that is less than 80, that now qualifies as an elevated level. At that point, lifestyle changes are recommended to bring that number down.
The recommended lifestyle changes to reduce blood pressure include weight loss for patients who are overweight or obese, adopting a heart-healthy diet, increasing potassium levels (preferably through diet modification), increasing physical activity, limiting of alcoholic drinks and reducing sodium intake. Obviously these recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt (pun intended), and what works best for one person may not be the case for everyone. Adopting an extreme regimen to reduce blood pressure isn’t always a sustainable option and may leave a patient burned out after a short period of time. The main thing to avoid is regressing to previous unhealthy habits. Any step taken to reduce blood pressure is a positive one, and using the marathon approach of starting with small changes and ramping up to a healthier lifestyle can be just as effective in the long run.
Another positive change a patient can make to reduce blood pressure is to stop smoking tobacco if he/she is a smoker. Cessation of tobacco smoking is the No. 1 thing a patient can do to improve cardiovascular health and overall well-being. Quitting is certainly difficult, but it can’t be emphasized enough how beneficial this change can be to one’s physical condition.
Once a patient’s blood pressure moves into the range of 130-139 over 80-89, this qualifies as stage 1 hypertension. At this point, physicians are recommended to perform an assessment to determine the patient’s risk of developing a cardiovascular condition in the next 10 years. If this risk is greater than 10%, guidelines recommend the patient receive blood pressure medication and continue to make lifestyle changes. If this risk is less than 10%, no blood pressure medication is required but lifestyle changes should be implemented or continued.
Moving into the range of 140 over 90 or greater, no assessment is needed and blood pressure medication plus lifestyle changes are recommended. This figure, now classified as stage 2 hypertension, used to be known as a healthy blood pressure level under the old guidelines. Additionally, 1 in 3 (78 million) adults in the United States now have high blood pressure according to these new guidelines.
Not being proactive in reducing high blood pressure puts a person at more risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure, as well as less obvious conditions like kidney disease. You may think you’re in the clear since high blood pressure usually is symptomless, but it doesn’t hurt to visit your physician to check your current blood pressure level and make sure you’re doing everything you can to lead a healthy, happy life.