Doctors should consider short- and long-term heart risks in patients with high blood pressure: study

New Delhi – Doctors should consider the long-term (30 years) as well as the short-term (10 years) risk of an individual developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) before starting drug treatment for stage 1 hypertension, or high blood pressure, according to a new study by the American Heart Association (AHA) on Monday.

The study, published in the AHA journal Hypertension, compared two tools for calculating cardiovascular disease risk.

It showed that “if only the current 10-year risk thresholds were applied, fewer adults might be recommended blood pressure-lowering medications.”

The University of Alabama team compared predicted risks estimated by the AHA’s PREVENT risk calculator, released in 2023, to the previous risk prediction tool called Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE).

PREVENT uses gender-specific equations; incorporates kidney disease markers in addition to HbA1c measurements to help monitor metabolic health; can estimate 10- and 30-year risk of heart attack or stroke as well as heart failure; and takes into account additional risk factors with the Social Deprivation Index.

In contrast, the PCE does not calculate risk over 30 years, nor does it include heart failure or other predictive risk factors such as kidney function or statin use.

“Many people with stage 1 hypertension who are not likely to have a heart attack, stroke or heart failure in the next 10 years may be at elevated risk over the next 30 years,” said lead author Paul Muntner, a visiting professor in the university’s department of epidemiology.

It may also benefit people at or without risk in the short term and “start antihypertensive treatment” to prevent a heart attack or stroke later in life. (IANS)