October 28.2025: How Low Should We Go? JACC This Week

Dr. Harlan Krumholz introduces a JACC issue unified around the question of how low to target blood pressure, highlighting growing evidence that aiming near 120 mm Hg improves cardiovascular outcomes without harming quality of life. Several studies from the STEP and ESPRIT trials show that intensive blood pressure control widens retinal arterioles, lowers stroke risk, enhances well-being, and remains safe even in older adults. Long-term follow-up data demonstrate that early initiation of intensive therapy provides lasting cardiovascular protection, while new analyses using the PREVENT equations confirm that higher-risk patients gain the most absolute benefit. The issue underscores that intensive control is both safe and effective, and that the next challenge is implementing these proven strategies consistently in clinical practice.

You can listen to October 28.2025: How Low Should We Go? JACC This Week online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

October 28.2025: How Low Should We Go? JACC This Week is an episode from JACC's Audio Podcasts by American College of Cardiology.

This episode is 22:16 long.

This episode was published on Oct 20, 2025.

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