Association of stage 1 hypertension defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline with cardiovascular events and mortality in Chinese adults

Background:The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association(ACC/AHA)blood pressure(BP)guideline lowered the threshold defining hypertension to 130/80 mmHg.However,how stage 1 hypertension defined using this guideline is associated with cardiovascular events in Chinese adults remains unclear.This study assessed the association between stage 1 hypertension defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline and clinical outcomes in the Chinese population.Methods:Participants with stage 1 hypertension(n=69,509)or normal BP(n=34,142)were followed in this study from 2006/2007 to 2020.Stage 1 hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure of 130-139 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mmHg.None were taking antihypertensive medication or had a history of myocardial infarction(MI),stroke,or cancer at baseline.The primary outcome was a composite of MI,stroke,and all-cause mortality.The secondary outcomes were individual components of the primary outcome.Cox proportional hazards models were used for the analysis.Results:During a median follow-up of 11.09 years,we observed 10,479 events(MI,n=995;stroke,n=3408;all-cause mortality,n=7094).After multivariable adjustment,the hazard ratios for stage 1 hypertension vs.normal BP were 1.20(95%confidence interval[CI],1.13-1.25)for primary outcome,1.24(95%CI,1.05-1.46)for MI,1.45(95%CI,1.33-1.59)for stroke,and 1.11(95%CI,1.04-1.17)for all-cause mortality.The hazard ratios for participants with stage 1 hypertension who were prescribed antihypertensive medications compared with those without antihypertensive treatment during the follow-up was 0.90(95%CI,0.85-0.96).Conclusions:Using the new definition,Chinese adults with untreated stage 1 hypertension are at higher risk for MI,stroke,and all-cause mortality.This finding may help to validate the new BP classification system in China.