Should Mild Hypertension Be Treated?

There is a growing body of opinion that all patients with hypertension — no matter how mild or uncomplicated — should be treated. In a recent report to Congress, the Assistant Secretary for Health, Edward N. Brandt, Jr., stated that the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program had demonstrated unequivocally that effective treatment could prolong life in both mild and borderline hypertension.1 Moser has also claimed that sufficient data have been accumulated to justify reduction of blood pressure in all patients with diastolic pressures above 89 mm Hg.2 If put into practice this recommendation will have rather awesome implications. The most . . .