The Experts are Clear: Control your Blood Pressure

Most of us have heard about high blood pressure. It's one of those conditions that afflict a large number of people. Nearly half of American adults are said by the AHA to have it! You may be able to control it by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, things like avoid eating saturated fats, salt and alcohol, keeping your weight down and getting exercise. Fortunately, there are drugs that can help keep it under control.

Why should anyone care? Strokes! Heart attacks! Premature death!

Is this one of those things that floats in the air but isn't real? Let's take a look at what people who know what they're doing say about it.

The American Heart Association (AHA)

Blood pressure is all about the heart, right? So let's start with the medical association that's all about keeping our hearts healthy. They make it very clear why we should care:

Those folks at the AHA may be doctors who can't write legible prescriptions, but they were sure able to rope someone into producing a scary diagram! OK, you've got my attention. Here's the facts with blood pressure:

What can I do?? What if I maintain a good weight, eat a heart-healthy diet, cut back on salt and the rest and my BP is still scary? There are medications.

How long will you have to take your medication? Perhaps for the rest of your life.

OK, then. If that's what has to be done to avoid the things in the scary diagram above, then so be it.

More American Heart Association (AHA)

I decided to dig a bit deeper. When did they come to this conclusion?

Here is a chart from the AHA as it was in May 2010:

Compare this to the same chart on the same site in April 2022, shown earlier.

It appears some things have changed! Basically they've decided to crank up the alarm level on most of the numbers. You can observe the differences yourself; Stage 2 hypertension is a good example. In 2010 you had it if your numbers were more than 160/100, while now it's 140/90. In 2010, if your pressure was below 140, you didn't "have" hypertension -- just "prehypertension." Now, stage 1 hypertension starts at 130.

I did some research. The change happened in 2017. Here is the AHA's news release on the subject:

High blood pressure should be treated earlier with lifestyle changes and in some patients with medication – at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90 – according to the first comprehensive new high blood pressure guidelines in more than a decade. The guidelines are being published by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for detection, prevention, management and treatment of high blood pressure.

The guidelines were presented today at the Association’s 2017 Scientific Sessions conference in Anaheim, the premier global cardiovascular science meeting for the exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians.

Rather than 1 in 3 U.S. adults having high blood pressure (32 percent) with the previous definition, the new guidelines will result in nearly half of the U.S. adult population (46 percent) having high blood pressure, or hypertension.

A whole lot more people have high blood pressure! I sure hope they did their homework on this. Reading on we find:

The new guidelines were developed by the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and nine other health professional organizations. They were written by a panel of 21 scientists and health experts who reviewed more than 900 published studies. The guidelines underwent a careful systematic review and approval process.

OK, it looks like a whole team of experts was in on this one. 

Harvard Medical School

Better check with the people who train the best doctors. Let's make sure this is really up to date.

Here's what they have to say:

Arteries that are tensed, constricted, or rigid offer more resistance. This shows up as higher blood pressure, and it makes the heart work harder. This extra work can weaken the heart muscle over time. It can damage other organs, like the kidneys and the eyes. And the relentless pounding of blood against the walls of arteries causes them to become hard and narrow, potentially setting the stage for a heart attack or stroke.

Most people with high blood pressure (known medically as hypertension) don't know they have it. Hypertension has no symptoms or warning signs. Yet it can be so dangerous to your health and well-being that it has earned the nickname "the silent killer." When high blood pressure is accompanied by high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to the arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially.

Sounds scary. Can I do anything about it?

High blood pressure is preventable. Daily exercise, following a healthy diet, limiting your intake of alcohol and salt, reducing stress, and not smoking are keys to keeping blood pressure under control. When it creeps into the unhealthy range, lifestyle changes and medications can bring it down.

They agree. There are pills I can take.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Let's make sure the government is on board. After some looking it was very clear that HHS is in favor of keeping blood pressure under control. Finding out exactly what they think and what they're doing proved to be a bit of a challenge. Here's some of the things I learned our government is doing to help us:

• They have published standards and require reports requiring health providers to specify the frequency of visits and other things they are performing with their patient population to control blood pressure.
• They sponsored the Million Hearts Risk Check Challenge, asking developers to create a new consumer app that informs consumers of their general heart risk, motivates them to obtain a more accurate risk assessment by entering their blood pressure and cholesterol values, and directs them to nearby community pharmacies (and other locations) offering affordable and convenient blood pressure and cholesterol screenings.
  
• The Surgeon General issued a Call for Action to Control Hypertension. It's a major document issued in 2020. Sadly, the link to the document was broken, so I wasn't able to read this important initiative. But here's a helpful diagram about it:

The fact that the document was issued is impressive. The section introducing it has a stirring ending: "We must act to preserve the nation’s cardiovascular health now and into the future. Together, we’ve got this!"

Conclusion

Governments and the big authorities in the field are united in the effort to keep us all more healthy by encouraging us all to address the "silent killer" of hypertension. They want us to address it first of all by lifestyle changes, but if that fails, medication is available to keep things under control. Even if we have to take a couple pills a day for the rest of our lives, that's a small price to pay for having a longer, healthier life.

 

This is an issue that similar in many ways to the goal of maintaining a heart-healthy diet that minimizes saturated fat in meat and dairy products, and to combating LDL, the "bad" cholesterol in our blood; they all contribute in their own ways to keeping us healthy.

 

We should all have our blood pressure checked and do what we have to do to keep it under control. If, that is, we want to live a long, heart-healthy life. Naturally there are contrasting views on this seemingly settled topic, for example here.

 

Most of us have heard about high blood pressure. It's one of those conditions that afflict a large number of people. Nearly half of American adults are said by the AHA to have it! You may be able to control it by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, things like avoid eating saturated fats, salt and alcohol, keeping your weight down and getting exercise. Fortunately, there are drugs that can help keep it under control.

Why should anyone care? Strokes! Heart attacks! Premature death!

Is this one of those things that floats in the air but isn't real? Let's take a look at what people who know what they're doing say about it.

The American Heart Association (AHA)

Blood pressure is all about the heart, right? So let's start with the medical association that's all about keeping our hearts healthy. They make it very clear why we should care:

Those folks at the AHA may be doctors who can't write legible prescriptions, but they were sure able to rope someone into producing a scary diagram! OK, you've got my attention. Here's the facts with blood pressure:

What can I do?? What if I maintain a good weight, eat a heart-healthy diet, cut back on salt and the rest and my BP is still scary? There are medications.

How long will you have to take your medication? Perhaps for the rest of your life.

OK, then. If that's what has to be done to avoid the things in the scary diagram above, then so be it.

More American Heart Association (AHA)

I decided to dig a bit deeper. When did they come to this conclusion?

Here is a chart from the AHA as it was in May 2010:

Compare this to the same chart on the same site in April 2022, shown earlier.

It appears some things have changed! Basically they've decided to crank up the alarm level on most of the numbers. You can observe the differences yourself; Stage 2 hypertension is a good example. In 2010 you had it if your numbers were more than 160/100, while now it's 140/90. In 2010, if your pressure was below 140, you didn't "have" hypertension -- just "prehypertension." Now, stage 1 hypertension starts at 130.

I did some research. The change happened in 2017. Here is the AHA's news release on the subject:

High blood pressure should be treated earlier with lifestyle changes and in some patients with medication – at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90 – according to the first comprehensive new high blood pressure guidelines in more than a decade. The guidelines are being published by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for detection, prevention, management and treatment of high blood pressure.

The guidelines were presented today at the Association’s 2017 Scientific Sessions conference in Anaheim, the premier global cardiovascular science meeting for the exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians.

Rather than 1 in 3 U.S. adults having high blood pressure (32 percent) with the previous definition, the new guidelines will result in nearly half of the U.S. adult population (46 percent) having high blood pressure, or hypertension.

A whole lot more people have high blood pressure! I sure hope they did their homework on this. Reading on we find:

The new guidelines were developed by the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and nine other health professional organizations. They were written by a panel of 21 scientists and health experts who reviewed more than 900 published studies. The guidelines underwent a careful systematic review and approval process.

OK, it looks like a whole team of experts was in on this one. 

Harvard Medical School

Better check with the people who train the best doctors. Let's make sure this is really up to date.

Here's what they have to say:

Arteries that are tensed, constricted, or rigid offer more resistance. This shows up as higher blood pressure, and it makes the heart work harder. This extra work can weaken the heart muscle over time. It can damage other organs, like the kidneys and the eyes. And the relentless pounding of blood against the walls of arteries causes them to become hard and narrow, potentially setting the stage for a heart attack or stroke.

Most people with high blood pressure (known medically as hypertension) don't know they have it. Hypertension has no symptoms or warning signs. Yet it can be so dangerous to your health and well-being that it has earned the nickname "the silent killer." When high blood pressure is accompanied by high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the damage to the arteries, kidneys, and heart accelerates exponentially.

Sounds scary. Can I do anything about it?

High blood pressure is preventable. Daily exercise, following a healthy diet, limiting your intake of alcohol and salt, reducing stress, and not smoking are keys to keeping blood pressure under control. When it creeps into the unhealthy range, lifestyle changes and medications can bring it down.

They agree. There are pills I can take.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Let's make sure the government is on board. After some looking it was very clear that HHS is in favor of keeping blood pressure under control. Finding out exactly what they think and what they're doing proved to be a bit of a challenge. Here's some of the things I learned our government is doing to help us:

• They have published standards and require reports requiring health providers to specify the frequency of visits and other things they are performing with their patient population to control blood pressure.
• They sponsored the Million Hearts Risk Check Challenge, asking developers to create a new consumer app that informs consumers of their general heart risk, motivates them to obtain a more accurate risk assessment by entering their blood pressure and cholesterol values, and directs them to nearby community pharmacies (and other locations) offering affordable and convenient blood pressure and cholesterol screenings.
  
• The Surgeon General issued a Call for Action to Control Hypertension. It's a major document issued in 2020. Sadly, the link to the document was broken, so I wasn't able to read this important initiative. But here's a helpful diagram about it:

The fact that the document was issued is impressive. The section introducing it has a stirring ending: "We must act to preserve the nation’s cardiovascular health now and into the future. Together, we’ve got this!"

Conclusion

Governments and the big authorities in the field are united in the effort to keep us all more healthy by encouraging us all to address the "silent killer" of hypertension. They want us to address it first of all by lifestyle changes, but if that fails, medication is available to keep things under control. Even if we have to take a couple pills a day for the rest of our lives, that's a small price to pay for having a longer, healthier life.

 

This is an issue that similar in many ways to the goal of maintaining a heart-healthy diet that minimizes saturated fat in meat and dairy products, and to combating LDL, the "bad" cholesterol in our blood; they all contribute in their own ways to keeping us healthy.

 

We should all have our blood pressure checked and do what we have to do to keep it under control. If, that is, we want to live a long, heart-healthy life. Naturally there are contrasting views on this seemingly settled topic, for example here.