via Wall Street Journal

In a finding that may upend conventional wisdom about treating hypertension, scientists with the National Institutes of Health said that aggressive reduction of blood pressure to levels under current targets can significantly reduce rates of cardiovascular disease and death in hypertension patients.

Using medication to lower systolic blood pressure to less than 120 reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke by almost a third, and death by almost a quarter, compared with lowering it to a commonly recommended target of less than 140, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute said Friday.

The study’s results were so striking that the 9,300-person trial was stopped more than a year ahead of schedule in order to “quickly disseminate the significant preliminary results,” the NHLBI said.

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