'Lifesaving' blood pressure study recommends even lower benchmarks
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:
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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Fixer of Trump's problems has become one of them'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Pros and cons of oat milk
Pros and cons Oat has emerged as the king of Britain's plant-based milks, but how does it stack up against the alternatives?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
What happens if TikTok is banned?
Today's Big Question Many are fearful that TikTok's demise could decimate the content creator community
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published