Is High Blood Pressure Overtreated?

Concerned about a high blood pressure reading at your last doctor’s appointment? You might be wrong about your concern. Some doctors believe so. hypertension It is often misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed. Official blood pressure guidelines issued by medical organizations around the globe differ.

Blood pressure measures how much force the heart exerts upon blood vessels. Systolic Pressure (the first or highest number) measures the force exerted by the heart on blood vessels as it beats. Diastolic Pressure (the second or lowest number) measures the force exerted by the heart as it rests between beats. It’s measured in millimeters of mercury (mm HG).

“White-coat” hypertension (wherein an anxious patient’s blood pressure rises in the presence of a doctor)—along with a shifting definition of hypertension to include lower readings—may mean that more people are diagnosed with the condition and are prescribed medication for it than actually have it.

Shifting Definition

Globally, hypertension has increased from 594,000,000 in 1975 to 1.13 Billion in 2015. according to the World Health Organization. Hypertension’s exact definition is still in dispute. This could lead to some skewing of the numbers.

A 2017 guideline The American College of Cardiology (ACOC) and American Heart Association have lowered the threshold for high blood pressure diagnosis in adults to 130/80 mmHg from 140/90mm Hg.

This change was “while about 14 percent more people will be diagnosed with high blood pressure and counseled about lifestyle changes, there will only be a small increase in those who will be prescribed medication,” American Heart Association claimed It was at that time.

However, this cutoff means that almost half of U.S. adults (47%) had hypertension or were on medication for it in 2022. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021 recommended Doctors should not prescribe blood pressure medication until blood pressure reaches the 140/90mm Hg threshold. For patients with existing cardiovascular disease, the group recommended initiating medication at a systolic reading of 130–139 mm Hg.

‘White-Coat’ Hypertension

Leland Stillman M.D. said that many high blood pressure patients are being treated too often in an interview with Joseph Mercola D.O. Sometimes, incorrect readings can be to blame.

Stillman told Mercola may recommend blood pressure medication to patients “because they were relying on one or two numbers from the doctor’s office,” They may be anxious or agitated.

Stillman referred to this problem as “an epidemic” And so it was. “I think high blood pressure is massively over-diagnosed because of this, and it’s just one of many examples I can give you about how the mainstream practices [result in overtreatment].”

Stillman, author of “Dying to Be Free: How America’s Ruling Class Is Killing and Bankrupting Americans, and What to Do About It,” said when he takes patients’ blood pressure readings after they have been sitting and resting for five minutes, “lo and behold, they’ll have completely normal numbers.”

To partially account for white-coat hypertension the International Society of Hypertension in 2021 recommended For an official diagnosis of hypertension, a threshold of 140/90mmHg is used. However, 135/85mm Hg is for home blood pressure monitoring. 130/80mm Hg is for 24-hour ambulatory monitoring.

‘Harm and Waste’

“Lowering definitions of hypertension has led to identification and drug treatment of larger populations of patients despite lack of evidence that drugs reduce morbidity or mortality,” Back in 2014, doctors in America and Canada wrote that they had discovered that the condition was not common in their patients. BMJ analysis.

This was in response to an even earlier lowering of the threshold for medical intervention—from a diastolic pressure of greater than 115 mm Hg to a reading of 140/90 mm Hg.

The doctors pointed out that applying the same threshold to all patients does not take into account individual risk profiles and ignores adverse side effects of medication. It also removes incentive for patients to lower their blood pressure. “lifestyle choices”—that is, diet and exercise.

They said that people were able to call them what they called “mild hypertension” A systolic blood pressure reading between 140 and 159 mm Hg does not mean that you will benefit from drug treatment.

Dr. John Brodersen, a general practitioner with a doctorate of public health and psychometrics, is an associate researcher in the field of medical screening at University of Copenhagen Department of Public Health. Brodersen explained to The Epoch Times that the threshold for high blood pressure diagnosis was lowered in 2017. “helpful to only a few people, maybe nobody, and it was harmful to thousands or millions of people.”

“Expanding definitions of disease are causing too many people to be diagnosed and treated unnecessarily, producing harm and waste, posing a major threat to human health and the sustainability of health systems, and creating growing conflict within medicine,” States a 2018 analysis co-authored by Brodersen in the BMJ.

Susan C. Olmstead writes on health, medicine, food and social issues. Her work has been published in The Epoch Times and Children’s Health Defense as well as Salvo Magazine and many other publications.

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