Treatment of hypertension in 1994. Comments on the 1993 guidelines of the Norwegian Society of General Practitioners concerning the treatment program for hypertension

: An absolute reduction of 2.5% per year in cardiovascular risk among persons treated with drugs indicates that elderly persons should also be treated for hypertension in this way. Today, ambulatory assessments of blood pressure and detection of organ damage using both traditional and new methods (echo-cardiography, microalbuminuria) are useful in identifying high-risk patients in need of treatment. Non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension (changes in lifestyle) has not been proved to have any effect on the clinical manifestations of high blood pressure, and is only a supplement to treatment with drugs. The assertion that diastolic pressure should not be brought down to below 85 mm Hg is based on small numbers and retrospective data. It is our impression that the Society of General Practitioners emphasizes economic savings to an extent that tends to conflict with current scientific knowledge.