Author(s)

Kazumitsu Nawata^1,2, Hayato Sugano¹, Moriyo Kimura³

¹Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Tokyo, Japan.
³The Public Health Institute, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: The American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA) and other organizations announced a new hypertension guideline (2017 ACA/AHA Guideline) in November 2017. However, other organizations such as the European Society of Cardiology and European Society of Hypertension maintained their diagnostic thresholds. It is necessary to evaluate the effects of blood pressure (BP) and antihypertensive drugs on the probability of having heart disease (HD). Data and Methods: The effects of BP, antihypertensive drugs and other factors on the probability of undergoing HD treatment were analyzed. We used a dataset containing 83,287 medical check-up and treatment records obtained from 35,504 individuals in 5 fiscal years. The probit models were used in the study. Considering the possibility of endogeneity problems, different types of models were used. Results: We could not find evidence that a higher systolic BP increased the probability of undergoing HD treatment. However, diastolic BP increased the probability in most of the models. Taking antihypertensive drugs also increased the probability of undergoing HD treatment. Diabetes was another important risk factor. Conclusion: The results of this study did not support the new 2017 ACC/AHA Guideline. It is necessary to choose proper drugs and methods to reduce the risks of side effects. Limitations: The dataset was observatory, the data were obtained from just one medical society, and sample selection bias might exist.

Heart Disease, 2017 ACC/AHA Hypertension Guideline, Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Antihypertensive Drug, Diabetes

Nawata, K. , Sugano, H. and Kimura, M. (2019) An Analysis of the Effects of Blood Pressure and Antihypertensive Drugs on Heart Disease. Health, 11, 792-816. doi: 10.4236/health.2019.116064.