'Lifesaving' blood pressure study recommends even lower benchmarks

A doctor checking the blood pressure of a patient

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 11 September 2015

Lowering blood pressure below the current recommended benchmarks could significantly decrease the risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and death, a new study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute revealed Friday. The study's release comes a year ahead of schedule because federal health officials declared it had revealed "potentially lifesaving information."

In what NPR calls the largest study ever conducted, researchers examined the systolic blood pressure of 9,300 men and women over the age of 50 to find out if lowering it below the current recommended goal would be beneficial. The results: A resounding yes. The New York Times reports:

"The study found that patients who were assigned to reach a systolic blood pressure goal below 120 — far lower than current guidelines of 140, and 150 for people over 60 — had their risk of heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes reduced by a third and their risk of death reduced by nearly a quarter." [The New York Times]

About one-third of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, The New York Times reports. The new study is expected to reshape guidelines for addressing high blood pressure in the future and will likely result in even lower target benchmarks. "This is a very big deal," Mark Creager, president of the American Heart Association told The New York Times. "I believe that this study will serve as a roadmap towards saving a significant number of lives."