JNC 7: Changes from JNC 6
The Seventh Report of the Joint National
Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood
Pressure (JNC 7) is based on new evidence highlighting more effective
management strategies for hypertension. An Express version of the JNC 7 has been
provided for busy physicians and a full report will follow which includes a
detailed account of the guidelines and supplemental tools for professional
and patient education. That the previous guidelines were not being used to
full potential has sparked the revision of the JNC 6 and prompted the
Coordinating Committee to create additional learning resources, clearer and
more concise guidelines, and simpler classifications of blood pressure.
The new information presented in the JNC 7
includes the following:
- New
category designated prehypertension
- Patients with prehypertension are at increased risk for
progression to hypertension; those in the 130-139/80-89 mm Hg range are
twice as likely to develop hypertension as those with lower values.36
- Stages 2
and 3 hypertension have been combined