Evidence & progress
Studies, publications, guidelines, results, historical timeline, evidence gaps and recent changes
Outcomes 7
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A sudden heart-artery problem that did not lead to a heart attack. In SPRINT it is one of the five kinds of event that made up the primary combined outcome.
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A sudden worsening of heart failure. In SPRINT it is one of the five kinds of event that made up the primary combined outcome.
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Dying for any reason during a study's follow-up.
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Death from heart or blood-vessel causes. In SPRINT it is one of the five kinds of event that made up the primary combined outcome.
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A heart attack. In SPRINT it is one of the five kinds of event that made up the primary combined outcome.
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A combined count of heart attacks, other sudden heart-artery problems, strokes, heart failure and deaths from heart or blood-vessel causes.
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Having a stroke during a study's follow-up. Each study decides what counts as a stroke.
Publications 7
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The 2024 guideline from the European Society of Cardiology on elevated blood pressure and hypertension. It updates the society's 2018 guideline, which it issued with the European Society of...
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The 2025 guideline from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, with other societies, on preventing, detecting, evaluating and managing high blood pressure in adults...
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A large analysis that pooled the original patient-level data from 48 randomised trials of blood-pressure-lowering medicines, 344,716 people in all. It asked whether the medicines lower the risk of...
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The NICE guideline on diagnosing and treating high blood pressure in adults, with the dates of its changes.
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The main report of the SPRINT trial results, published in November 2015.
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The main report of the SSaSS salt-substitute trial, published online on 29 August 2021 and in the print issue of 16 September 2021.
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The 2021 World Health Organization guideline on when to start blood pressure medicine in adults, which medicines to start with, which targets to aim for and who can provide the care.
Studies 2
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A large trial in rural China that tested whether replacing ordinary salt with a lower-sodium, potassium-enriched salt reduces strokes. It enrolled people who had had a stroke or who were 60 or older...
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A large US trial that compared aiming for a top blood-pressure number below 120 with aiming below 140 in adults aged 50 and over at higher heart risk who did not have diabetes or a past stroke.