People could benefit from treatment to lower their blood pressure, even if their heart disease risk is only slightly raised, according to research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich.
The study, led by Professor Kazem Rahimi and his team at the University of Oxford, found a 10% reduction in the risk of heart disease and stroke in the next four years for every 5mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure (the top, higher number in a blood pressure reading).
A standard dose of blood pressure medication can reduce systolic blood pressure by around 10mmHg, suggesting that the benefits of treatment could be even greater than seen in the study.
Crucially, the researchers found the same relative reduction in people at all levels of cardiovascular risk, from those with an average five-year risk of just 3% up to nearly 42%. However, the largest reduction in absolute risk was seen in people with the highest five-year risk.
The team behind the analysis—the largest of its kind—suggests that NICE guidelines should be updated in light of its findings and that selecting people for treatment should be based on their calculated cardiovascular risk, rather than whether their blood pressure is above a certain threshold.
