The new guidelines for Bp control were recently released by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. It boils down to this:
Anything above 130/80 is now considered hypertensive. That said, nearly 50% of US adults are hypertensive and only 54% of these are under adequate control. As this article mentions, it can't all be up to the doctor. We can only prescribe but so many meds before dealing with nasty side effects, drug-drug interactions and expense. Just think of how many more doctor visits will be necessary to attain these values. Patient compliance and responsibility are going to have to play a bigger role. We are talking about weight loss, exercise and cutting back on alcohol consumption. Patients need to invest in a home Bp monitor and keep an ongoing record of their Bp,