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Treatment for moderately high blood pressure may be best saved for those at high risk

Research

The largest study of people with mild hypertension shows that medical treatment may not be worthwhile in those who are at low risk of heart attack and stroke.

Picture of a female doctor taking the blood pressure of a male patient

Image credit OU Images / Nasir Hamid

An observational study of patients with mild hypertension has found no evidence to support recent US guideline recommendations that encourage doctors to offer treatment to patients with low-risk mild hypertension.

Researchers from the University of Oxford, Cambridge University and the University of Birmingham looked at the routinely collected medical records of more than 38,000 patients in the UK over a period of 15 years. The patients were aged between 18 and 74, had mild hypertension (UK stage 1: 140-159/90-99mmHg) and had not received any previous treatment for the condition.

Find out more (Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences website)

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