The American Heart Association’s (AHA) decision to lower the BP threshold to less than 120/80 mm Hg may help increase awareness and encourage earlier interventions in India, where cases of hypertension, or high blood pressure, are on the rise, especially among young adults, according to health experts on Monday.

One of the most significant modifiable risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and death prevention is hypertension.

The American Heart Association has revised its guidelines for those with high blood pressure for the first time since 2017. The AHA now defines normal blood pressure as less than 120/80 mm Hg, replacing the previous diagnostic threshold of 130/90 mm Hg.

“With India’s rapidly rising rates of hypertension, the updated BP guidelines by the AHA are highly relevant for the Indian population,” Dr. Mukesh Goel, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart and Lung Transplant Surgery, from a prestigious city-based hospital, told IANS.

“These changes are important for India: Lowering the BP threshold for diagnosis means a much larger segment of the population is now classified as hypertensive, raising awareness and pushing for earlier interventions, as nearly 200 million people are estimated to have hypertension,” he continued.

The adjustments to the guidelines can help “fight the’silent killer’ effect because many Indians don’t know they have high blood pressure until problems arise,” Goel said.

The reason for this is “primarily because hypertension produces no symptoms in early stages,” Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Chairman, Scientific Committee, IMA Cochin, told IANS. Furthermore, not everyone undergoing treatment attains sufficient control.

The expert stated that although “the new guidelines advocate for more stringent control of blood pressure, based on recent large trials that point in that direction,” other trials showed that such aggressive treatment of hypertension did not improve outcomes and could actually cause side effects like fainting, kidney damage, and low blood pressure.

As a result, he advocated for individualized hypertension treatment.

Notably, the recommendations support potassium-based salt alternatives for cooking at home, with the exception of individuals with chronic kidney disease or those using medications that lower potassium excretion.

According to Dr. Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of The George Institute for Global Health in India, “this is particularly relevant to Indian diets, where home-cooked, salty foods are commonly consumed,”

Furthermore, the “promotion of team-based management, with involvement of community health workers (ASHA) and nurses, fits India’s health system well, especially in rural or primary care settings,” he stated.

It’s also critical to “avoid tobacco, reduce alcohol, improve exercise levels, maintain a healthy body weight, and follow a balanced diet, avoiding excessive salt intake,” because cardiovascular risk factors compound. Jayadevan stated.