New blood pressure guidelines may make millions anxious that they’re at risk of heart disease

Recent recommendations to lower the threshold for diagnosing patients with high blood pressure are likely to harm up to 80% of those newly diagnosed. Our analysis, published today in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, argues the recommendations from two US bodies to diagnose people with a top blood pressure reading (systolic) of 130mmHg as having hypertension (high blood pressure) may do far more harm than good.