The American Academy of Family Physicians has decided not to endorse the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/ American Heart Association (AHA) hypertension guideline.
The AHA/ACC and nine other health professional organizations published new hypertension guidelines on November 13. The AAFP’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science formally reviewed the AHA/ACC hypertension guidelines but it did not meet the criteria for endorsement nor affirmation of value.
The AAFP was not involved in the development of the new guideline and continues to endorse the 2014 Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, developed by panel members appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8). Additionally, the AAFP and the American College of Physicians published a clinical practice guideline in 2017 for treatment of hypertension in adults over 60, which was based on a systematic review of the evidence.
The decision to not endorse the ACC/AHA guideline was based on several concerns over the methodologic rigor used, the management of conflicts of interests for panel members, and a lack of appropriate consideration of harms associated with recommending lower blood pressure targets. More information is available in the AAFP News story.