Don’t Let New Blood Pressure Guidelines Raise Yours – The New York Times

Read article - An opinion piece by H. Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine and of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and professor of economics, in which he discusses the new guidelines for systolic blood pressure, which have been tightened to less than 130 for anyone with at least a 10 percent risk of heart attack or stroke in the next decade. "So focusing on the number 130 not only will involve millions of people but also will involve millions of new prescriptions and millions of dollars," says Welch. "And it will further distract doctors and their patients from activities that aren't easily measured by numbers, yet are more important to health — real food, regular movement and finding meaning in life. These matter whatever your blood pressure is."