A lower blood-pressure target cut repeat heart and stroke events

A lower blood-pressure target reduced repeat cardiovascular events in stroke survivors, the American Heart Association reported from the randomized OPTIMAL-Stroke trial. The study enrolled 4,368 people at 30 centers in Brazil. Aiming for a systolic pressure below 120, rather than below 140, lowered major cardiovascular events by about 21 percent over four years. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago. Kidney-related events rose in the lower-target group, so the tighter goal needs medical supervision and is not a change to make alone. The trial does not show a cure. It shows a difference in events under a supervised target, in this group of stroke survivors, across the four years researchers followed.