Validity of the JNC VI Recommendations for the Management of Hypertension in a General Population of Japanese Elderly

Abstract

THE SIXTH Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) recommended consideration of patient-specific estimates of absolute (rather than relative) risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in treatment decisions.¹ For the first time, the JNC VI proposed a risk stratification system that was based not only on the level of blood pressure (BP) but also on the presence or absence of target organ damage (TOD) or other risk factors such as smoking, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. A prospective cohort study of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I demonstrated an absolute benefit derived from treating hypertension according to this risk stratification system in the US population.² It is unknown whether this system works well in the Japanese elderly population.