{"id":15164,"date":"2018-04-03T09:04:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=15164"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:57:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:57:12","slug":"what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_20637\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20637\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20637 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp 1498w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934-1024x684.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934-768x513.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20637\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: UCHealth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because new blood pressure guidelines that lower the thresholds for high blood pressure were adopted by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acc.org\/guidelines\">American College of Cardiology<\/a> (ACC) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/health-topics\/high-blood-pressure\">American Heart Association<\/a> (AHA) in late 2017. However, those guidelines have yet to be recommended by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acponline.org\/?gclid=CjwKCAiA-KzSBRAnEiwAkmQ153sXimXxz89PHs5UNjgT38Rmi5T7MYQQJwsC4ID8c1CJnKlOTQ04exoCbfkQAvD_BwE&amp;jcpid=8a8ae4b331bb05aa0131be21d3370017&amp;jsf=e2ec0be0-e8ba-4f5d-a844-bd8cb39f9137:33443\">American College of Physicians<\/a> (ACP) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aafp.org\/home.html\">the American Academy of Family Physicians<\/a> (AAFP).<\/p>\n<h2>A difference in opinions<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15168\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15168\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15168\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/03025323\/VanderWerf.Guy_.11.8.17-1200.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/03025323\/VanderWerf.Guy_.11.8.17-1200.webp 727w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/03025323\/VanderWerf.Guy_.11.8.17-1200-218x300.webp 218w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/03025323\/VanderWerf.Guy_.11.8.17-1200-109x150.webp 109w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/04\/03025323\/VanderWerf.Guy_.11.8.17-1200-200x275.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15168\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Guy Van der Werf, family medicine physician at UCHealth Primary Care Clinic \u0096 Estes Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOur blood pressure readings will be evaluated a bit differently than cardiologists\u2019, but that\u2019s because we are usually working with a different population,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/guy-van-der-werf-md\/\">Dr. Guy Van der Werf<\/a>, a family medicine physician at UCHealth Primary Care Clinic \u2013 Estes Park. \u201cA less-active person may prompt me to take a more proactive approach to their blood pressure, but a less aggressive approach is necessary when a patient doesn\u2019t have those (cardiac) risk factors.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Physician guidelines, which were updated by ACP and AAFP in January 2017, recommend:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>People 60 and older keep a less than 150\/80 mm Hg blood pressure reading \u2014 and less than 140\/80 for those under the age of 60 \u2014 in order to reduce their risk of stroke or cardiac events.<\/li>\n<li>For those with cardiac risks (such as a history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or obesity) and are 60 or over, that number should be 140\/80 or less.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/health-topics\/high-blood-pressure\">new guidelines followed by cardiologists<\/a>\u00a0reclassify high blood pressure, setting lower thresholds:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Normal: Less than 120\/80 mm Hg;<\/li>\n<li>Elevated: Systolic between 120-129\u00a0<em>and<\/em>diastolic less than 80;<\/li>\n<li>Stage 1: Systolic between 130-139\u00a0<em>or<\/em>diastolic between 80-89;<\/li>\n<li>Stage 2: Systolic at least 140\u00a0<em>or<\/em>diastolic at least 90;<\/li>\n<li>Hypertensive crisis: Systolic over 180 and\/or diastolic over 120, with patients needing prompt changes in medication if there are no other indications of problems, or immediate hospitalization if there are signs of organ damage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe guidelines are telling us to push lifestyle changes harder at an earlier stage to prevent these cardiac events,\u201d said UCHealth Cardiologist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/chad-l-stoltz-md-cardiology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dr. Chad Stoltz<\/a>, who sees patients in northern Colorado, including Estes Park.<\/p>\n<h2>Do I have high blood pressure or not?<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure already, you still meet that criteria whether you are being cared for by a cardiologist or your primary care doctor.<\/p>\n<p>But now your cardiologist will put you in a higher stage that may involve a more aggressive approach to lowering your levels, Stoltz said. For example, someone whose blood pressure was in the 120 range would have been classified as having \u201cprehypertension.\u201d That category has gone away and now they would have \u201celevated\u201d blood pressure and their cardiologist would help put a plan in place to lower their levels. But that doesn\u2019t mean medication, Stoltz added.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ACC and AHA, the guideline changes were based on recent studies that showed that those who are at high risk \u2014 such as smokers, overweight individuals, or those with a family history of heart disease or who have diabetes \u2014 can benefit greatly by lowering their blood pressure. And this can be accomplished through nonpharmacological interventions, such as reducing sodium intake or increasing exercise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want to throw medication at them right away,\u201d Stoltz said. \u201cIt\u2019s really impressive how much you can drop your blood pressure with proactive roles. Losing 10 pounds can make a whole lot of difference. A lot of times it\u2019s simple things.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Let\u2019s take your blood pressure<\/h2>\n<p>But no matter the number at which they classify their patients, both Stoltz and Van der Werf agree that getting an accurate blood pressure reading is the first step.<\/p>\n<p>It is common for physicians to see what they call \u201cwhite-coat hypertension\u201d from their patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe they are running late to the doctor\u2019s, or the doctor is running late \u2014 whatever the reason, factors have caused the patient to showcase high blood pressure during their office visit,\u201d Stoltz said.<\/p>\n<p>Physicians don\u2019t want to treat people for high blood pressure if in fact it\u2019s only the visit to the doctor\u2019s office that has caused it, he said. So, to verify if the patient has high blood pressure, they may suggest the patient take their blood pressure outside the office at different times of the day.<\/p>\n<p>Wal-Mart and other stores, such as Safeway, usually have blood pressure machines located within their pharmacies that anyone can use. (Rocky Mountain Pharmacy in Estes also has this option.) But the most accurate readings come from an at-home blood pressure devices. The new AHA\/ACC guidelines stress the use of these home devices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese home blood pressure kits are fairly cheap and are very good,\u201d Stoltz said. \u201cWe are recommending them because we need to know what a patient\u2019s levels are the rest of the time, and many times we are surprised that their numbers are actually good when they are home. Those patients don\u2019t need to be treated (for high blood pressure).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And for those with high blood pressure, the at-home kits also have their benefits, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon that patients don\u2019t see their doctor for six to 12 months, so it doesn\u2019t hurt for them to be watching their levels and adjusting their lifestyle changes accordingly,\u201d Stoltz said. \u201cWe also recommend they keep a blood pressure log so they can share those numbers when they do visit with us, and we can help them adjust their plan accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information on the risks of high blood pressure\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/schedule-appointment\/\">schedule a visit<\/a> with your primary care physician or cardiologist today. [Read related article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/whats-in-a-number-blood-pressure-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you. That\u2019s because new blood pressure guidelines that lower the thresholds for high blood pressure were adopted by the American College [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2164,"featured_media":20637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2923,4864,3512,82,811,331,9187,869],"class_list":["post-15164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-blood-pressure","tag-estes-park","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiovascular","tag-heart-and-vascular-care-cardiology","tag-heart-disease","tag-integrative-medicine","tag-readysetco","tag-stroke-care"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me? - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc\"},\"headline\":\"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":973,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/23150329\\\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"blood pressure\",\"Estes Park\",\"Heart and vascular care\",\"Heart care\",\"heart disease\",\"Integrative medicine\",\"Ready. Set. CO\",\"Stroke care\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Healthy living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/\",\"name\":\"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me? - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/23150329\\\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/23150329\\\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/23150329\\\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp\",\"width\":1498,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Photo: UCHealth\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc\",\"name\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kati Blocker, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Kati Blocker has always been driven to learn and explore the world around her. And every day, as a writer for UCHealth, Kati meets inspiring people, learns about life-saving technology, and gets to know the amazing people who are saving lives each day. Even better, she gets to share their stories with the world. As a journalism major at the University of Wyoming, Kati wrote for her college newspaper. She also studied abroad in Swansea, Wales, while simultaneously writing for a Colorado metaphysical newspaper. After college, Kati was a reporter for the Montrose Daily Press and the Telluride Watch, covering education and health care in rural Colorado, as well as city news and business. When she's not writing, Kati is creating her own stories with her husband Joel and their two children.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/katieblocker\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me? - UCHealth Today","description":"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?","og_description":"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/"},"author":{"name":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc"},"headline":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?","datePublished":"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/"},"wordCount":973,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp","keywords":["blood pressure","Estes Park","Heart and vascular care","Heart care","heart disease","Integrative medicine","Ready. Set. CO","Stroke care"],"articleSection":["Healthy living"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/","name":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me? - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp","datePublished":"2018-04-03T15:04:37+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-23T16:57:12+00:00","description":"Cardiologists and primary care physicians won\u2019t argue that high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. But you may find they\u2019ll now discuss your blood pressure numbers a bit differently with you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/12\/23150329\/cholesterol-guidelines_CJA_9934.webp","width":1498,"height":1000,"caption":"Photo: UCHealth"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/what-do-new-blood-pressure-guidelines-mean-for-me\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What do new blood pressure guidelines mean for me?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/2974962d9c19ae1bbcec3250ab830fbc","name":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/62cfc49002cce7d835ff120702e1e8cd4b871b3468a4fed7137fbfa60674c6b3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kati Blocker, UCHealth"},"description":"Kati Blocker has always been driven to learn and explore the world around her. And every day, as a writer for UCHealth, Kati meets inspiring people, learns about life-saving technology, and gets to know the amazing people who are saving lives each day. Even better, she gets to share their stories with the world. As a journalism major at the University of Wyoming, Kati wrote for her college newspaper. She also studied abroad in Swansea, Wales, while simultaneously writing for a Colorado metaphysical newspaper. After college, Kati was a reporter for the Montrose Daily Press and the Telluride Watch, covering education and health care in rural Colorado, as well as city news and business. When she's not writing, Kati is creating her own stories with her husband Joel and their two children.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/katieblocker\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":2164,"name":"Kati Blocker","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/katieblocker\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15164"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62020,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15164\/revisions\/62020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}