New Blood Pressure Guidelines Prove Challenging

A new study in the January issue of Diabetes Care found that the more aggressive guidelines for treatment of hypertension which were released in 2003:

"... did not result in substantially better hypertension control for patients with diabetes in the US."¹

Below are the most recent classifications for blood pressure as described in the JNC's 7th Report:²


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And here are the JNC's summarized recommendations for lifestyle modifications. (More information about the blood pressure guidelines and lifestyle recommendations, including eating plans, can be found here.)


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________¹ Lack of Effect of Guideline Changes on Hypertension Control for Patients With Diabetes in the U.S., 1995–2005, Diabetes Care, January 2007.

² The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, Express Report, published in 2003 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLB), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).