The BMJ has just published a handy summary of these recommendations in an article by Taryn Kraus et al, Management of hypertension: summary of NICE guidance, stating that "Hypertension is one of the most important preventable causes of death worldwide and one of the commonest conditions treated in primary care in the United Kingdom, where it affects more than a quarter of all adults and over half of those over the age of 65 years."
The guideline changes include:
- The use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring rather than than clinic blood pressure measurement as a diagnosis of hypertension, as it is more accurate and cost effective.
- A diagnosis of stage 1 hypertension in patients aged under 40 years not automatically excluding them from receiving antihypertensive treatment.
- The provision of antihypertensive treatment to people aged over 80 years.
- There is an absence of evidence for use of bendroflumethiazide at the doses commonly prescribed in current UK practice.
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