News - Hypertension Week of June 15, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 24

No Mention of 'Pre-Hypertension" in New European Blood Pressure Guidelines

New blood pressure guidelines issued by the European Society of Hypertension and the European Society of Cardiology are quite different from their American counterparts.

The European guidelines published in the June 2003 issue of the Journal of Hypertension make no mention of "pre-hypertension" as the American guidelines did when issued in May.

Instead, the European guidelines suggest that normal blood pressure for non-diabetics ranges from 120/80 to 129/84, while anything between 130/85 and 139/89 is on the high side of normal. For diabetics in these ranges, the guidelines urge them to be treated, noting that their blood pressure should be under 130/80.

The American guidelines, known as JNC 7, suggest that people with systolic blood pressure from 120 to 139 or diastolic blood pressure from 80 to 89 are in a state of prehypertension. The guidelines urge people in these ranges to make lifestyle changes to lower their blood pressure.

The European guidelines consider all high blood pressure medications as potential initial therapy on the basis that their benefits do not vary much from one drug class to another and that two thirds to three quarters of patients with high blood pressure will need two or three drugs to achieve a normal range.

Conversely, the American guidelines suggest that diuretics should be first-line treatment either alone or in combination with other drugs for high blood pressure.

Journal of Hypertension, June 2003, Volume 21, Issue 6