Docs Urge Cutting Out Booze, Quicker Hypertension Care

New blood pressure guidelines are encouraging health care providers to begin treatment sooner and to advise patients to avoid alcohol. The updated recommendations from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology reflect recent research suggesting that earlier intervention may help prevent more serious cardiovascular issues down the line, reports CNN.

• Traditionally, doctors waited until patients' blood pressure readings reached higher thresholds before starting medication. The new guidance lowers these thresholds, meaning more people could be prescribed treatment earlier in the course of managing hypertension. This shift is partly based on evidence that high blood pressure can contribute to heart attacks, strokes, and other complications if left unaddressed. Pregnancies can also be adversely affected.

• Another notable change is the advice to skip alcohol entirely, rather than simply reducing consumption. Past approaches often emphasized moderation, but the new recommendations take a firmer stance after studies linked even modest drinking to higher blood pressure and increased health risks. Health experts now suggest that avoiding alcohol can play a significant role in keeping blood pressure under control.
• These changes mean that many people with borderline-high readings may now qualify for treatment. While lifestyle modifications like diet, exercise, and stress management remain central to blood pressure control, medication and abstinence from alcohol are now seen as more important parts of the tool kit. "High blood pressure is the most common and most modifiable risk factor for heart disease," Dr. Daniel W. Jones, head of the panel that penned the new guidelines, says in a release.