Lowering Borderline High Blood Pressure Helps Heart, Study Shows

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD 

If your blood pressure is notching above normal, it's to your heart's advantage to stop that trend as soon as possible.

New research shows that people with high blood pressure aren't the only ones who run a greater risk of heart attacks and heart disease.

Those with "prehypertension" -- the zone between normal and high blood pressure -- also have higher- than-normal odds of having a heart attack or heart disease. The findings appear in Stroke.

The Good News

Blood pressure problems can be curbed. That can be a big help to your heart (and the rest of your body).

"If we were to eliminate prehypertension, we could potentially prevent about 47% of all heart attacks," says researcher Adnan Qureshi, MD, in an American Stroke Association news release.

Qureshi directs the cerebrovascular program at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. He is also a professor at the university's neurology and neurosciences department.

What's Prehypertension?

Here's a quick guide to blood pressure terms:

• Systolic blood pressure is the first (or top) number
• Diastolic blood pressure is the second (or bottom) number.
• Hypertension is another word for high blood pressure.
• Normal blood pressure: Lower than 120/80
• Prehypertension: Systolic blood pressure of 120-139 and/or diastolic blood pressure of 80-89
• High blood pressure: 140/90 or higher

About 59 million people in the U.S. have prehypertension, says the news release.