European guidelines that set lower thresholds for “normal” blood pressure and cholesterol levels mean that 90 per cent of over-50s could be labelled as sick, doctors said yesterday.
Patients with high blood pressure and cholesterol are often prescribed drugs, as well as being given lifestyle advice. But doctors have raised concerns about the threshold at which they are advised to start treatment, not only owing to cost but also because of possible side effects.
Writing in the British Medical Journal Iona Heath, a GP in London, and Steinar Westin, a GP in Norway, said the latest guidelines suggested that blood pressure above 140/90mmHg and cholesterol above 5mmol/l were the appropriate thresholds for being labelled at risk.
When the guidelines were applied to adults in Norway, they found that half the population would be considered at risk by the age of 24. This level rose to 90 per cent by the age of 49.