Why the study?
Does a systolic blood pressure target below 120 mmHg compared to below 140 mmHg improve true cardiovascular outcomes, or are the results driven by differences in diuretic treatment demasking heart failure?
Population
More than 9300 participants aged 50 and older
Comparison
Systolic blood pressure target below 120 mmHg vs Systolic blood pressure target below 140 mmHg
Design
Review
Key result
Diuretic treatment differences demasking heart failure may drive SPRINT outcomes, supporting a systolic blood pressure target below 140 mmHg rather than below 120 mmHg.
Authors
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Hypothesis-generating for intensive BP targets; leaves open need for confirmatory trials in broader populations.
Does a systolic blood pressure target below 120 mmHg compared to below 140 mmHg improve true cardiovascular outcomes, or are the results driven by differences in diuretic treatment demasking heart failure?
This analysis suggests the apparent benefits of a <120 mmHg systolic blood pressure target in the SPRINT trial may be an artifact of diuretic use unmasking heart failure, arguing instead for a <140 mmHg target.
Kjeldsen et al. (2016) studied this question. Diuretic treatment differences demasking heart failure may drive SPRINT outcomes, supporting a systolic blood pressure target below 140 mmHg rather than below 120 mmHg.