People at risk of a heart attack or stroke could benefit from blood-pressure-lowering drugs even if their blood pressure is considered in the normal, healthy range. If such drugs were offered to people with cardiac  risks regardless of their blood pressure at the beginning of treatment it could save millions of lives, researchers in Oxford University found. For the study, the team analyzed more than 120 medical trials including around 600,000 people conducted over two decades, saying their findings are a call for an urgent review of existing blood pressure treatment guidelines. "Our findings clearly show that treating blood pressure to a lower level could greatly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, if widely conducted," said study lead author Kazem Rahimi. High blood pressure has long been identified as a factor in higher risks of heart disease and strokes, and makes more than a billion people around the globe in torment -- including one out of three U.S. adults. Blood pressure is recorded in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) as two numbers in a ratio: "systolic" pressure inside the arteries when the heart beats as the top number, and "diastolic " pressure between heartbeats, as the heart rests and is refilled with blood. "Normal" blood pressure is considered at 120/80 or below, and is considered "high" at 140/90 or above, according to the American Heart Association. The researchers said their study showed that for every reduction in systolic pressure of 10 mmHg, the risk of heart attacks was reduced by a fifth and that of a stroke around a quarter. Some experts said they thought the study's findings were important but did offer some warnings. "One important warning is that not everyone will be able to tolerate having their blood pressure reduced to low levels, and there is a need to balance possible drug side effects and likely benefits," Smeeth said. What do the findings indicate?
Normal blood pressure doesn't mean a healthy body. The existing blood pressure treatment is useless. High blood pressure is the first health killer. High blood pressure causes many diseases.