UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Family Medicine and Community HealthDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2014-09-14Keywords
Cardiovascular DiseasesCommunity Health and Preventive Medicine
Diagnosis
Family Medicine
Preventive Medicine
Primary Care
Therapeutics
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Antihypertensive drugs have an important role in the treatment of malignant hypertension, secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and primary prevention for people at high risk: those with moderate to severe hypertension (≥160/100 mm Hg), diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. Debate continues, however, about the level at which treatment should begin and the appropriate targets for treatment. The greatest uncertainty surrounds mild hypertension (140-159/90-99 mm Hg), which accounts for over 60% of those with hypertension or 22% of the global adult population. Evidence suggests no net benefit from drug treatment of mild hypertension in people without the higher risks of diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Nevertheless, most people with mild hypertension are treated with drugs. In this article, we examine the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of mild hypertension.Source
Martin SA, Boucher M, Wright JM, Saini V. Mild hypertension in people at low risk. BMJ. 2014 Sep 14;349:g5432. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g5432. PubMed PMID: 25224509.DOI
10.1136/bmj.g5432Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/30973PubMed ID
25224509Related Resources
Link to article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1136/bmj.g5432