February 22, 2017 – Individualizing

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Anchor lead: Everyone’s individual features must be considered in blood pressure management, Elizabeth Tracey reports

While experts around the world debate the best way to manage blood pressure, how can those of us who are concerned about our own manage? Gregory Prokopowicz, a blood pressure expert at Johns Hopkins, says while evidence is gathered and sifted, attempting to follow any set of guidelines by the book is probably not the best approach.

Prokopowicz: I do think that there’s some room for clinical judgment there. Part of the difficulty is that these guidelines tend to get linked up to reimbursement issues and quality issues and clinicians are held to standards that may not always be realistic. Even though the guideline authors always take great pains to say these are guidelines they can’t be applied in every situation, these numbers tend to get a life of their own and then they take on perhaps an exaggerated importance. :30

Prokopowicz says each person’s risks and benefits with regard to managing blood pressure must be considered and a tailored plan developed. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.