JNC 8: Key Features of the New Hypertension Guidelines for Physician Assistants
About 31% of american adults have hypertension (65 million). In the US, only 50% of patients with hypertension are being treated to target BP levels. If you look at patients with uncontrolled hypertension, 90% have a usual source of healthcare and have health insurance. This means that the shortfall is action by the clinician! Yes, you, the physician assistant!
If you are completely new to medicine, JNC stands for the Joint National Committee and typically releases guidelines on hypertension management. From the table below, we know that the this is the first release in 11 years. Let’s first begin by talking about a few obvious changes for JNC 8 from previous years.
- While the Joint National Committee is typically commissioned by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), JNC 8 was actually tasked by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) in June of 2013.
- You’ll notice a title change in JNC 8 from previous years - this was no mistake. ACC and AHA decided that since they had recently released guidelines on assessing and managing cardiovascular risk, treating cholesterol and managing obesity, a name change was necessary. This was not the first time the title has changed in the past - see highlights in red.
