Heart Health
Optimal blood pressure: A moving target?
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Earlier this fall, federal officials stopped a major blood pressure study a full year earlier than planned, based on what they called "potentially lifesaving benefits" from the findings. The preliminary results suggest that in people with high blood pressure, achieving a systolic blood pressure (the first number in a reading) of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) in-stead of 140 mm Hg can substantially lower a person's risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and death.
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