Targeting Multivariable Risks: An Opportunity for Population High Blood Pressure Control

E levated blood pressure has been recognized since theearly 20th century as an indicator of adverse cardio-vascular risk and mortality, with increased rates of disease with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels.1 Results from early hypertension treatment studies from the Veterans Administration Cooperative Study Group on Antihy-pertensive Agents determined that treating and lowering blood pressure levels among patients with high blood pressure was associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and stroke risks.2 These successful blood pressure reductions and adverse risk outcomes were demonstrated in the population as a whole, leading to strategies for hypertension control.3 These strategies for population and clinical programs focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and control of hyper-tension are associated with the consistent lowering of systolic blood pressure distributions from 1960 to 2010 in the Unite