NHS bid to cut heart attacks and strokes could see millions offered cheap blood pressure pills

TWENTY million adults could be offered cheap blood pressure pills in an NHS bid to cut heart attacks and strokes.

Current rules say patients with 140/90mmHg readings qualify for treatment.

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But research has shown red­ucing pressure below 130mmHg slashes the risk of dying young.

Now the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is looking at evidence for lowering the eligibility threshold.

Adopting the more aggressive target would cover 46 per cent of UK adults, nearly one in two, experts say. High blood press­ure is the biggest single trigger of heart disease and stroke.

It is dubbed “the silent killer” as symptoms often go unnoticed. Pills cost as little as 10p a day.

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A major Oxford University study found each 10mmHg drop in pressure cut the stroke and heart attack risk by a quarter — and early death by 13 per cent.

The American Heart Association has already adopted the lower targets. NICE told Pulse magazine: “We are asking some of the same questions considered in the US and will be considering some of the same evidence.”

But London-based consultant cardiologist Aseem Malhotra said: “We need to cut the am­ount of medications people take and promote healthier lifestyles.”