American Heart Association Lowers Hypertension Threshold; Increase in Diagnoses Likely

​Together, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and others have released updated guidelinesfor preventing, detecting, evaluating, and managing high blood pressure in adults, including redefining thresholds for hypertension. The guidelines now define high blood pressure as a reading of 130 over 80, a decrease from 140 over 90. According to the guidelines, 32% of U.S. adults were considered hypertensive under the previous guidelines—a figure that is expected to increase to 46% under the new guidelines.