Millions of adults in the US should be taking blood pressure-lowering medication

Key Points:

• Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults with untreated high blood pressure could benefit from treatment under updated American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines, potentially preventing around 200,900 deaths over the next decade.
• The new guidelines expand eligibility for blood pressure medication to about 81 million Americans, including 9.7 million untreated individuals, with treatment linked to a 23% lower risk of all-cause death and a 50% reduction in cardiovascular death risk.
• Adults with diabetes stand to gain the most from blood pressure treatment due to the compounded cardiovascular risk from both conditions.
• Experts emphasize that controlling high blood pressure requires a combination of medication adherence and lifestyle changes such as improved diet, increased physical activity, stress management, and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Physicians are encouraged to identify early signs of hypertension and consider more aggressive treatment, especially among younger adults who may have mild but increasing cardiovascular risk factors.