CDA Essentials 2018 • Volume 5 • Issue 2

22 | 2018 | Issue 2 N ews and E vents  How are the new guidelines relevant to dentists? All health care providers have a collective responsibility to the health of our patients. Clinicians whose primary responsibility is not management of blood pressure or heart disease can share their knowledge and let the patient know, "Your blood pressure is high today. I will communicate this to your health care provider; you need to understand this may or may not be a true reading, but we should follow-up on that because it poses a risk to you." a Watch the full interview with Dr. Cigarroa at oasisdiscussions.ca/ 2018/01/09/bp-9 High blood pressure defined in Canada Hypertension Canada’s response to the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines can be found in an online statement. The statement notes that the updated ACC/AHA guidelines are now more closely aligned with the 2017 Hypertension Canada Guidelines and outlines where the American and Canadian guidelines agree, and where they diverge. Key areas of divergence include:  Hypertension in the ACC/AHA guidelines is diagnosed at 130/80 mmHg versus 140/90 mmHg in the Hypertension Canada guidelines.  ACC/AHA recommends a single treatment target of <130/80 mmHg for all patients. Hypertension Canada recommends tailored targets based on risk and co-morbidity. The statement from Hypertension Canada states: “Although (the ACC/AHH guidelines are) simplified, millions of low-risk adults are now labeled as having hypertension, and many will require medication intensification in the absence of clear evidence for benefit. As such, we will not change our Hypertension Canada Guidelines in response to the AHA guidelines.” Hypertension Canada Response: hypertension.ca/images/Hypertension_Canada_responds_to_ 2017_AHA_Guidelines.pdf