The Korean Society of Hypertension set forth guidelines that maintained high blood pressure be treated at 140/90 mmHg or higher, not following the latest recommendations of its U.S. counterparts.

The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) had updated its guidelines for physicians to treat high blood pressure at 130/80 mm Hg or higher, instead of 140/90 mmHg.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Thursday stated there were limitations of applying the ACC/AHA directions developed on American data and trials as a new standard for hypertension in Korea.

The Korean Society of Hypertension has kept the standard for high blood pressure the same at 140/90 mmHg.

“Since the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) included only 2 percent of those of Asian ethnicity and did not include patients with diabetes, stroke, and heart failure, it may be difficult to apply the new guideline to all high-risk hypertensive patients directly,” the KCDC said.

The agency noted a need for additional studies on a Korean population to develop a relevant model to predict the risk of cardiovascular disease in the country.

“The government and related societies need to undertake further research to develop a Korean model for predicting the risk of incident cardiovascular disease,” the agency said. “They also need to research the development of appropriate criteria for diagnosing hypertension in Koreans through clinical intervention studies involving high-risk patients.”

Meanwhile, the Korean Society of Hypertension also kept the standard of normal blood pressure the same at 120/80 mmHg while classifying the stages of hypertension more minutely.

The 2013 guideline had set 120-129/80-84 mmHg as the warning stage for hypertension, and 130-139/85-89mmHg as the stage right before hypertension.

The new 2018 guideline indicates 120-129/80 mmHg as the warning stage and 130-139/85-89 mmHg as the stage before hypertension.

Hypertension and cardiovascular disease due to high blood pressure are leading causes of death worldwide with the prevalence of hypertension increased in Korea, according to the KCDC.

Around 30 percent of Koreans aged 30 or more had hypertension although the control rate remained below 50 percent in 2016, data showed.

yjc@docdocdoc.co.kr

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