Hypertension: The New Guidelines

Try to look up signs or symptoms of high blood pressure, or hypertension. If you find any listed, they indicate extremely, dangerously advanced high blood pressure that should prompt immediate medical attention. For the rest of high blood pressure cases – potentially 1 in 2 adults! – there are no symptoms. Half of us could be living with a "silent" killer that can lead to stroke, heart disease, kidney failure and blindness if left untreated.

Per the updated blood pressure guidelines issued by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association in November, a bigger chunk of the U.S. population now falls in the blood pressure danger zone. The new chart specifies normal blood pressure as less than 120 over 80, and the category of pre-hypertension is eliminated. The revised blood pressure categories include elevated, stage one hypertension, stage two hypertension and hypertensive crisis.

Dr. Kintur Sanghvi is Associate Medical Director for Interventional Cardiology at Deborah Heart and Lung Center, where he's overseeing a landmark trial testing renal denervation in treating hypertension. The RADIANCE HTN procedure applies ultrasound energy to overactive kidney nerves to calm them down, possibly permanently. While this was originally targeted at hypertension patients who were unresponsive to medication, Dr. Sanghvi says it has given researchers new insights into treating patients all along the high blood pressure range.

KYW's Rasa Kaye talks with him about hypertension, the new guidelines, and the intriguing trial at Deborah.

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