If you’ve been following the news, you know that there’s some hype about the new blood pressure guidelines that were just released by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA). Under their new, more stringent guidelines, a significantly greater number of people will be diagnosed with hypertension than before. According to the New York Times, the number of men under age 45 who will be diagnosed will now triple and for women double.
New High Blood Pressure Threshold
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Currently, most adult blood pressure goals have been set to below 140/90. But according to new guidelines, the cut off will be much lower at 130/80.
Before you frantically search for your long lost and forgotten blood pressure monitor, let’s learn a little more about what blood pressure even is and why the changes have been made.
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