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Guidelines
Your doctor should follow treatment guidelines set by the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, which is a panel of health professionals that periodically looks at the latest research in treating high blood pressure.
The panel added a category of prehypertensive when it issued new guidelines in 2003. For people on the verge of high blood pressure, this is a warning to improve their lifestyles.
Treatment guidelines
| Category |
Systolic reading* (mmHg) |
|
Diastolic reading* (mmHg) |
Management |
| Normal |
Less than 120 |
and |
Less than 80 |
Adoption of healthy lifestyle encouraged. |
Drug therapy not indicated. |
|
| Prehypertension |
120-139 |
or |
80-89 |
Lifestyle modifications* are necessary. |
Drug therapy not indicated unless compelling indication** exists. |
|
Hypertension
stage 1 |
140-159 |
or |
90-99 |
Lifestyle modifications are necessary. |
Drug therapy often indicated. Compelling indications have specific medications. |
|
Hypertension
stage 2 |
Greater than 160 |
or |
Greater than 100 |
Lifestyle modifications are necessary. |
Drug therapy indicated. Compelling indications have specific medications. |
|
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| * Lifestyle modifications should be: weight reduction in those who are overweight or obese, adoption of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan which is rich in potassium and calcium, dietary sodium reduction, regular physical activity and moderation of alcohol consumption. |
| **Compelling indications are high-risk situations such as coronary heart failure, heart attack, coronary heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and stroke. Patients with chronic kidney disease or diabetes are treated to BP goal of less than 130/80 mm Hg. |
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| From the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, National Institutes of Health. May 2003. |
More on Hypertension
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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