Reducing blood pressure with antihypertensive drugs protects against future cardiovascular (CV) events even in individuals with normal or only mildly raised blood pressure level, suggests a large meta-analysis.

The findings published online in The Lancet suggested that each 5 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure decreased the relative risk for CV events by about 10% across the full spectrum of baseline blood pressures, irrespective of whether the individual had cardiovascular disease (CVD) or not.

Lead investigator Kazem Rahimi stated that pharmacological blood pressure reduction should be considered in cardiovascular risk management even when the blood pressure is normal or mildly increased, for primary and secondary prevention of CVD… (Medscape)