Controversies in hypertension: is lower blood pressure always better?

Since the advent of the sphygmomanometer over a century ago, appreciation of the impact of chronic hypertension has continued to grow. By the early 20th century, life insurance actuaries had quantified the magnitude of the important relationship between blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; BP   > 140/90  mm Hg signified a doubling of the risk of fatal heart attack compared to a “normal” BP (roughly 120/80 mm Hg). Pathogenesis of hypertension was unknown; in a famous debate published in the Lancet in 1959, Robert Platt summarized the prevailing view that hypertension is a discrete Mendelian ge netic disease with a sharp BP cutoff at 150/90 mm Hg.
Source: Journal of the American Society of Hypertension - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Controversies in Hypertension Source Type: research