The ACC/AHA 2017 Hypertension Guidelines: Both Too Much and Not Enough of a Good Thing?

Ideas and Opinions20 February 2018The ACC/AHA 2017 Hypertension Guidelines: Both Too Much and Not Enough of a Good Thing?Jordana B. Cohen, MD, MSCE and Raymond R. Townsend, MDJordana B. Cohen, MD, MSCEUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.B.C., R.R.T.)Search for more papers by this author and Raymond R. Townsend, MDUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.B.C., R.R.T.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-3103 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail With the proliferation of hypertension guidelines in recent years, the 2017 guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) (1) are a tour de force, encompassing an imposing 481 pages, 106 recommendations, 23 tables, and 11 figures and representing countless hours of systematic literature review. This level of meticulousness is not lost on those of us who spend our time contributing to and interpreting the hypertension literature. Nonetheless, the guidelines bombarded the intended audience—clinicians on the frontline of patient care—with a mountain of information that may have spawned as many questions as it answered.Intended as ...References1. Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, Casey DE, Collins KJ, Dennison Himmelfarb C, 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: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension. 2017. [PMID: 29133356] doi:10.1161/HYP.0000000000000065 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. 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[PMID: 26215512] doi:10.1038/nrneph.2015.114 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (J.B.C., R.R.T.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-3103.Corresponding Author: Jordana B. Cohen, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103; e-mail, [email protected]upenn.edu.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Cohen and Townsend: University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.