Bloeddruk en langetermijnsterfte aan coronaire hartziekten in de 'Zevenlandenstudie': implicaties voor de klinische praktijk en de volksgezondheid

- In an observational study it was found that at the same blood pressure level, coronary heart disease mortality rates varied substantially between populations. This emphasizes the limited usefulness of hypertension as the sole diagnostic criterium for drug treatment and the importance of individual risk assessment based on the multifactorial absolute for coronary heart disease. In all populations, any increase in blood pressure was associated with a similar increase in relative risk for coronary heart disease mortality, irrespective of an individual's blood pressure level. Treatment of patients at high risk, complemented by a population strategy aimed at blood pressure reductions in the population as a whole, will therefore result in a maximal benefit for coronary heart disease prevention.