How the recommendations might affect practice The recommendations should reinforce current good practice. However, the new recommendations place more emphasis on maintaining blood pressure consistently below the blood pressure targets. As a result, this could lead to a higher use of antihypertensive drugs and an increase in consultations to maintain target blood pressure. For people with type 2 diabetes and target organ damage (not covered by other guidelines), the slightly higher target blood pressure compared to that recommended previously may reduce adverse events and may lead to fewer appointments and reduced drug use. Return to recommendations Blood pressure targets for people with cardiovascular disease Why the committee made the recommendation The evidence did not show a robust or consistent clinical benefit from using lower blood pressure targets for people with cardiovascular disease compared with standard blood pressure targets. The vast majority of people in the control arms of the studies achieved blood pressures well below 140/90 mmHg. In the committee's experience of practice, some people with hypertension can have their blood pressure maintained at 140/90 mmHg, rather than below this level. To address this issue, the committee amended the 2019 recommendations on blood pressure targets to emphasise the importance of reducing and maintaining blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg. The committee made recommendations for research for: People aged over 80, because there was no evidence specifically for this group. The only evidence was from mixed age groups, and the committee agreed that this evidence was too limited to support a new practice recommendation. People with aortic aneurysm, because there was no evidence for this group. People who have had a stroke, because there was limited evidence that lower blood pressure targets reduced the risk of future strokes, but there was also evidence on the possible harms of lower targets. 