ACC/AHA Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines
Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults
This guideline holds 2 recommendations, 4 tables and 2 figures.
Summary
The document reviews the background, history, missions, governance, values, and principles related to ACC/AHA guideline development, as well as the format of guideline documents and optimization strategies.
Key takeaways
The ACC/AHA guideline development process includes four phases: Pre-Production, Document Development, Review and Approval, and a newly added Phase 4 Post-Publication Surveillance Review and Guideline Revision.
The consensus threshold for writing committee approval of recommendations has been increased from >51% to >75%.
Guidelines will now use a Modular Recommendation Format (MRF) to organize content, structuring each module with a Class of Recommendation (COR), Level of Evidence (LOE), synopsis, recommendation-specific supportive text, and references.
The methodology integrates Shared Decision-Making (SDM) and Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), standardizing how evidence from SDM and PROs translates into the COR/LOE framework.
What is new in this version
Revised Section 3.4.5 to change the recommendation consensus threshold from >51% to >75%. Added new Section 3.7 detailing Phase 4 Post-Publication Surveillance Review and Guideline Revision.
Recommendations
9.5.1 Treating Hypertension to Reduce the Incidence of Heart Failure
In patients at increased risk, stage A HF, the optimal blood pressure in those with hypertension should be less than 130/80 mm Hg.
Population: Patients at increased risk, stage A HF with hypertensionWhen: Heart Failure
4.1.7 Shared Decision-Making in Patients With Acute Chest Pain
For patients with acute chest pain and suspected ACS who are deemed intermediate risk by a CDP, shared decision-making between the clinician and patient regarding the need for admission, for observation, discharge, or further evaluation in an outpatient setting is recommended for improving patient understanding and reducing low-value testing.
Population: Patients with acute chest pain and suspected ACS who are deemed intermediate risk by a CDPWhen: Acute Chest Pain
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