Updated NICE guidance recommends offering drug treatment at a lower threshold for 10-year cardiovascular risk and emphasizes maintaining blood pressure below target.
The updated NICE guidance lowers the threshold for initiating antihypertensive drug treatment based on 10-year cardiovascular disease risk and emphasizes maintaining blood pressure below target.
Hypertension is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. More than 25% of the adult UK population has hypertension, and in about 30% blood pressure remains uncontrolled.1 In August, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of hypertension. The guideline reviews further evidence that has emerged since it was last updated in 2011 from randomised trials investigating the initiation, monitoring, and choice of antihypertensive treatment. The scope of the updated guideline has increased to also include people with type 2 diabetes, but does not make recommendations for people with chronic kidney disease, established cardiovascular disease, or hypertension in pregnancy.This article summarises the most recent recommendations from NICE and includes information considered to be most relevant to primary care clinicians. Key changes to current practice include offering drug treatment to people at a lower threshold for 10 year risk of cardiovascular disease, emphasis on maintaining blood pressure below target, and clarifying criteria for same day specialist review in people with accelerated hypertension.
Boffa et al. (Mon,) conducted a review in Hypertension. Updated NICE guideline recommendations was evaluated. Updated NICE guidance recommends offering drug treatment at a lower threshold for 10-year cardiovascular risk and emphasizes maintaining blood pressure below target.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: