Important information about the new blood pressure guidelines

This week new blood pressure guidelines have been released giving our doctors and medical care providers updated information and procedures on how our blood pressure is to be interpreted and diagnosed.

The old way of defining high blood pressure

Until now, normal blood pressure was considered 120/80, you were not considered to have high blood pressure until your systolic (top number) pressure was greater than 140 and/or your diastolic (bottom number) pressure was greater than 90.

The new normal

Under the new guidelines (read them here if you’re up to it, it gets technical) blood pressure under 120/80 is now considered normal and 120/80 is considered elevated.  130/80 – 139/89 is considered stage 1 hypertension (high blood pressure).  140/90 and higher is considered stage 2 hypertension.  A hypertension crisis will be declared if your blood pressure (either number) is 180/120 or higher.  If you are in crisis you will require immediate treatment and likely hospitalization.  

Emergency Room

Who made these new guidelines?

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) are the organizations who joined together to make the changes.  Together they gathered 21 cardiac experts, who analyzed and reviewed all the relevant data and decided that lowering the thresholds was best for the overall well-being of Americans.

Salt Shaker

How will my doctor treat my high blood pressure?

Treatment will vary and depend on your blood pressure and your 10-year risk of having a heart attack or stroke.  You can determine your heart attack or stroke risk for yourself by going to the AHA website and answering a few questions in their risk “Check, Change, Control” calculator.  Before you head over to the AHA website you will need to know your total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and your current blood pressure.  If your 10-year risk factor is 10% or greater your healthcare provider will likely want to get aggressive with your treatment and your target blood pressure levels.

The treatment of your high blood pressure should be a cooperative effort between you and your healthcare professional.  The first thing you can do is STOP smoking if you smoke and certainly do not start if you don’t.  Smoking is a known cause of rising blood pressure.  Second would be, dietary changes, reduce and try to eliminate salt from your diet.  This is not just salt from the salt shaker but also includes salt (sodium) in packaged and processed foods.  You need to read your food labels carefully!  Reduce your alcohol to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.  Reduce your consumption of processed foods, increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables, eat lean protein and low-fat dairy.

Try to reduce the stress in your life and introduce some moderate physical activity. (Talk to your health care provider prior to starting any exercise programs) If you are obese, (BMI Calculator) talk to your doctor about ways to lower your weight.

What if my lifestyle changes don’t work?

If your doctor feels that lifestyle changes will not be enough or if you tried them and still have high blood pressure he or she may recommend 1 or more blood pressure medications.  The good news is most people do not have adverse side effects while using most of the prescriptions.  Many of the common blood pressure medicines have been around for a very long time, are safe and available in generic form.  The generics are typically available at affordable prices.

Blood Pressure Pills

So, what’s the bottom line?

The next time you see your medical care provider you need to be prepared that they may tell you that you now have high blood pressure (hypertension).  You should know your treatment options ahead of time and if you read this post closely enough you will!  Not all high blood pressure needs to be treated with prescription drugs.  And not only people currently with high blood pressure need to be aware of the precautions.  We all should be taking action to ward off high blood pressure even our kids.