Overview
- A nationally representative analysis published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association used NHANES data from 2009–2018 linked to deaths through 2019 to estimate the population impact of the 2025 AHA/ACC hypertension guideline.
- The study found 22.8 million U.S. adults are newly eligible for antihypertensive medication under the guideline and that 13.1 million were already treated while about 9.7 million (43%) remained untreated.
- Among eligible adults, use of blood pressure drugs was associated with a 23% lower risk of death from any cause and a 50% lower risk of cardiovascular death compared with no treatment.
- Modeling projected that treating all currently untreated but eligible adults could prevent about 200,900 all-cause deaths and about 162,600 cardiovascular deaths over 10 years, but the authors note these figures rely on observational associations, single-visit blood pressure measures, and nonrandomized treatment data.
- The guideline’s switch to the PREVENT risk equations changes who qualifies for drugs by using broader predictors and removing race, unpaid implementation could leave younger women and people with diabetes or chronic kidney disease untreated, and clinicians should weigh medication plus lifestyle measures when deciding care.