What are the financial implications of the 2017 AHA/ACC High Blood Pressure Guideline?

Abstract

Since the publication of the 2017 High Blood Pressure Guideline from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA),1 commentaries have been published debating medical perspectives on the usefulness, appropriateness, feasibility and scientific nature thereof. The critical point that most are deliberating on is the implementation of a new definition for hypertension. It was almost 25 years ago that the cut-offs for Stage 1 Hypertension were changed from 160/90 mmHg to 140/90 mmHg.2 In 2017 the AHA/ACC Guideline once again moved away from the globally accepted cut-offs, defining Stage 1 Hypertension based on the lower thresholds of 130–139/80–89 mmHg.