Have High Blood Pressure? No Need to Lower It Too Much, Now
Who knew? Lower blood pressure for people with high blood pressure isn't necessarily good. According to newswise.com, "Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that lowering systolic blood pressure below 120 does not appear to provide additional benefit for patients. Systolic pressure is the top number in a standard blood pressure reading (e.g., 120/80)." “Frequently we treat patients’ blood pressure to the lowest it will go, thinking that is what’s best,” said Carlos J. Rodriguez, M.D., associate professor of public health sciences at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study. “Our observational study found that treating to low pressures doesn’t provide any benefit to patients with regard to reducing risk of dangerous heart events like heart attack, heart failure and stroke. This calls into question the notion that lower is better.” Previous studies had documented a progressive increase in heart disease risk as systolic blood pres...