Health

Young adult blood pressure readings could mislead

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 10, 2004

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Taking blood pressure readings of those younger than 35 might lead to patients being prescribed anti-hypertensives for much of their life unnecessarily, according to a study published last month in the British Medical Journal.

Dr. Tom Marshall, the author and a lecturer in the department of public health and epidemiology at Birmingham University in Great Britain, analyzed data from a health survey taken in England in 1998, 1999 and 2000 that included more than 13,000 people. He found that of 55 people who had high blood pressure, only 16 had other cardiac risk factors that would actually make them eligible for treatment.

Dr. Marshall recommended that doctors be cautious about diagnosing hypertension in young adults and have a higher threshold before writing a prescription.

"Young adults are at low risk of heart disease and therefore benefit little from treatment," he wrote. "But misdiagnosis could mean a lifetime on medication."

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/05/10/hlbf0510.htm.

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