High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common health problem that can lead to serious heart issues like heart attacks and strokes.
Managing blood pressure well is key to staying healthy, especially for people at high risk of heart disease.
A new study called the Effective Systolic Pressure Reduction Intervention Trial (ESPRIT) was done in China to find out how tightly controlling blood pressure might help people avoid major heart problems. The results are very promising.
The study looked at people who aimed to lower their top blood pressure number (called systolic pressure) to less than 120 mm Hg. This was compared to the usual target of less than 140 mm Hg.
People who reached the lower target had 12% fewer major heart-related events. These events included heart attacks, strokes, hospital visits for heart failure, surgeries to open up blocked arteries, and deaths caused by heart problems.
Even more importantly, deaths caused by heart issues were reduced by 39% in the group with the lower blood pressure target. This means that fewer people died from heart-related causes when their blood pressure was lowered more aggressively.
The benefits didn’t stop there. The people in the intensive treatment group also had a 21% lower risk of dying from any cause, not just heart problems. This shows that better blood pressure control can lead to longer and healthier lives overall.
Of course, safety is also important. The study checked for serious side effects like very low blood pressure, imbalanced body salts, kidney issues, and falls. These problems did not happen much more often in the intensive treatment group. One side effect, fainting, was slightly more common, but it was still rare.
This research shows that aiming for a lower blood pressure goal could help many people live longer and avoid serious health problems. For people at higher risk of heart disease, it may be time to talk to their doctors about whether more intensive blood pressure treatment is a good choice for them.
The study gives new hope that with better care, many lives can be saved and people can enjoy better health.
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