28 Jun 2024 • A treatment strategy targeting a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg was found to benefit hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular risk, albeit with a slight increase in minor risks.

• 11,255 participants with a history of diabetes and stroke were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to either intensive treatment to achieve a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg, and the other receiving standard treatment to achieve less than 140 mm Hg.

• Throughout the follow-up period, the mean systolic blood pressure was 119.1 mm Hg (SD 11.1) in the intensive treatment group and 134.8 mm Hg (SD 10.5) in the standard treatment group.

• Over a median follow-up of 3.4 years, the primary outcome (composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, revascularization, or cardiovascular death) occurred in 9.7% of the intensive treatment group and 11.1% of the standard treatment group. The hazard ratio (HR) was 0.88, indicating a statistically significant benefit favoring intensive treatment.

Source:Lancet| Read full story