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Hypertension

New US blood-pressure guidelines — who asked the patients?

The radical new US hypertension guidelines, released 3 years after the previous scientific statement, have implications far beyond their intended recipients. They include a new definition for hypertension, lower treatment targets, and extended guidance on the implementation of multidisciplinary care, including self-monitoring of blood pressure. Some recommendations are likely to generate controversy.

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Figure 1: Blood-pressure thresholds and recommendations for treatment.

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Acknowledgements

R.J.M. is funded by an NIHR Professorship (NIHR-RP-R2-12-015) and the NIHR Oxford CLAHRC.

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Correspondence to Richard J. McManus.

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Competing interests

R.J.M. has received blood pressure monitoring equipment for research purposes from Lloyds Pharmacies and Omron. J.M. declares no competing interests.

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McManus, R., Mant, J. New US blood-pressure guidelines — who asked the patients?. Nat Rev Cardiol 15, 137–138 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2017.222

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