Dive Brief:
- Reducing systolic blood pressure below 120 mm HG appears to provide no additional benefits to high blood pressure patients, according to a long-term study of heart disease risk.
- The 22-year study could lead to fewer prescriptions for high blood pressure patients who have gotten their blood pressure back into the normal range.
- The study tracked the blood pressure and monitored the heart health of 4,480 people. It also again confirmed that people with high blood pressure are at greater risk for heart attack or stroke.
Dive Insight:
"We were a little surprised by the findings," lead study author Dr. Carlos Rodriguez, associate professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., told HealthDay. Another large-scale trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, is underway to test the findings.