¿Cómo puede la presión arterial alta afectar mi salud?

According to 2017 hypertension guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA), the risk for heart attack, stroke and other high blood pressure (BP) complications begins to increase around 115/75 mmHg.^1-5 The risk doubles for each 20 mmHg increase in the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and each 10 mmHg increase in the diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

For adults with hypertension, lowering BP is recommended to mitigate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Evidence shows that lowering BP decreases the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes such as heart disease, stroke, and death.^6-9 It may also slow the progression of kidney damage in people with chronic kidney disease.¹⁰ Further, meta-analyses as well as national and international guidelines suggest that lowering BP decreases risk of these outcomes regardless of which agent is used.^6-10

References

1. Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension. Nov 13 2017;doi:10.1161/hyp.0000000000000066
2. Lewington S, Clarke R, Qizilbash N, Peto R, Collins R. Age-specific relevance of usual blood pressure to vascular mortality: a meta-analysis of individual data for one million adults in 61 prospective studies. Lancet (London, England). Dec 14 2002;360(9349):1903-13. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11911-8
3. Rapsomaniki E, Timmis A, George J, et al. Blood pressure and incidence of twelve cardiovascular diseases: lifetime risks, healthy life-years lost, and age-specific associations in 1.25 million people. Lancet. May 31 2014;383(9932):1899-911. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60685-1
4. Reboussin DM, Allen NB, Griswold ME, et al. Systematic review for the 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Nov 7 2017;doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.11.004
5. Wright JT, Jr., Williamson JD, Whelton PK, et al. A randomized trial of intensive versus standard blood-pressure control. The New England Journal of Medicine. Nov 26 2015;373(22):2103-16. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1511939
6. Ahluwalia M, Bangalore S. Management of hypertension in 2017: targets and therapies. Curr Opin Cardiol. Jul 2017;32(4):413-421. doi:10.1097/hco.0000000000000408
7. James PA, Oparil S, Carter BL, et al. 2014 evidence-based guideline for the management of high blood pressure in adults. JAMA. 2014;311(5):507-520. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.284427
8. Pignone M, Viera AJ. Blood pressure treatment targets in adults aged 60 years or older. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166(6):445-445. doi:10.7326/M17-0034
9. Qaseem A, Wilt TJ, Rich R, Humphrey LL, Frost J, Forciea MA. Pharmacologic treatment of hypertension in adults aged 60 years or older to higher versus lower blood pressure targets: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2017;166(6):430-430. doi:10.7326/M16-1785
10. KDIGO 2012 clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and management of chronic kidney disease. Kidney International Supplements. Jan 2013;3(1):i-150. doi:10.1038/kisup.2012.66