2014 EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDELINE FOR THE

MANAGEMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN

ADULTS REPORT FROM THE PANEL MEMBERS
APPOINTED TO THE EIGHTH JOINT NATIONAL
COMMITTEE (JNC 8)
Hypertension is the most common condition seen in primary care and
leads to myocardial Infarction. stroke, renal failure, and death if not detected early
treated appropriately. Patients want to be assured that blood pressure (BP)
treatment will reduce their desease burden, while clinicians want guidance on
hypertension management using the best scientific evidence. This report takes a
rigorous, evidence-based approach to recommend treatment thresholds, goals, and
medications in the management of hypertension in adults. Evidence was drawn
from randomized controlled trials, which represent the gold standard for
determining effectivenss. Evidence quality and recomeendations were graded
based on their effect on important outcomes.
There is strong evidence to support treating hypertensive persons aged 60
years or older to a BP goal of less than 150/90 mm Hg annd hypertensive persons
30 through 59 years of age to a diastolic goal of less than 90 mm Hg; however,
there is insufficient evidence in hypertensive persons younger than years for a
systolic goal, or ind those younger than 30 years for a diastolic goal, so the panel
recommends a BP of less than 140/90 mm Hg for those groups based on expert
opinion. Tie same thresholds and goals are recommended forhypertensive adults
with diabetes or nondiabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) as for the general
hypertensive population younger than 60 years. There is moderate evidence to
support Initiating drug treatment with an

angiotensin-converting

enzyme

inhibitor angiotensin receptor Mocker, calcium channel blocker or thiazide-type

diuretic is recommended as initial therapy. There is moderate evidence to support
initial or add-on antihypertensive therapy with an angiotensi-converting enzyme
inhibitor or angiotensi recepton blocker in persons with CKD to improve kidney
outcomes.
Although this guideline provides evidence-based recommedations for the
management of high BP and should meet the clinical needs of most patients, these
recommendations are not a substitute for clinical judgment, and deciasions about
care must carefully consider and incorporate the clinical characteristics and
circumstances of each individual patient.
Hypertensions remains one of the most important prevent able contibutors
to disease and death. abundant evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
has shown benefit of antihypertensive drug treatment in reducing important health
outcomes in persons with hypertension. Clinical guidelines are at the intersection
between research evidence and clinical actions that can improve patient outcomes.
The institute of medicine report clinical practice guidelines we can trust outlined a
parth way to guideline development and is the approach that this panel aspired to
in the creation of this report.
The panel members appointed to the eighth join national commintte (JNC
8) used rigorous evidence-based methods. Develomping evidence statements and
recommendations for blood pressure (BP) treatment based on a systematic review
of the literature to meet user needs, especially the needs of the primary care
clinician. This report is an executive summary of the evidence and is designed to
provide clear recommendations for all clinicians. Major diffreance from the
previous JNC report are summarized in table 1. The complete ecidence summary
and detailed description of the evidence review and methods are provided online
(see supplement)

The process
The panel members appointed to JNC 8 were selected from more than 400
nominees based on expertise in hypertension (n =14), primary care (n = 6),
including geriatrics (n = 2), cardiology (n = 2), nephrology (n = 3), nursing (n =
1), pharmacology (n = 2), clinical trials (n = 6), evidence-based medicine (n = 3),
epidemiology (n = 1), informatics (n = 4),

and the development and

implementation of clinical guidelines in systems of care (n = 4).

The panel also include a senior scientist from the national institute of
diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases (NIDDK), a senior medical officer
from the national heart, lung, and blood institute (NHLBI), and senior scientist
from NHLBI, who withdrew from authorship prior to publication. Two members
left the panel early in the process before the evidence review because of new job
commitments that prevented them from continuing to serve panel members
disclosed any potential conflicts of interest including studies evaluated in this
report and relationships with industy. Those with conflicts were allowed to
participate in discussion as long as they declared their relationships, but the
recused themselves from votting on evidence statements and recommendations
relavant to thir relationships or conflicts. Four panel members (24%) had
relationships with industy or potential conflicts to disclose at the outset of the
process.
In january 2013, the guedeline was submitted for external peer review by
NHLBI to 20 reviewers, all of whon had expertise in hypertension, and to 16
federal agencies. Reviewers also had expertise in cardiology, nephrology, primary
care, pharmacology, research (including clinical trials). Biostattistic, and other
importan related fields. Sixteen individual reviewers and 5 federal agencies
responded. Reviewers comments were collected, collated, and anonymized,
momment wre reviewed and discussed by the panel from march through june

2013 and incorporated into a revised document. (reviewers comments and

suggestions, and responses and disposition by the panel are available on reques
from the authors.)

Questions guiding the evidence review

This evidence-based hypertension guideline focuses on the panels
3highest-ranked questions related to high BP management identified throug
amodified delphi technique. Nine recommendations are mae reflecting these
questions. These questions address thresholds and goals for pharmacologic
treatment of hypertension and whther particular antihypertensive drugs or drug
classes improve important health outcomes compared with other drug classes.
1. In adults with hypertension, does initiating antihypertensive pharmacologic
therapy at specific BP thresholds improve health out comes?
2. In adults with hypertension, does treatment with antihypertensive
pharmacologic therapy to a specified BP goal lead to im provements in health
outcomes?
3. In adults with hypertension, do various anihypertensive drugs or drug classes
differ in comparative benefits and harms on specific health outcome?

The evidence review

The evidence review focused on adults aged 18 years or older with
hypertension and included studies with the folowing prespecified subgroups :
diabetes, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, previous
stroke, chronic kidney disease (CKD), proteinuria, older adults, men and women,
racial and ehnic groups, and smokers. Studies with sample sizes smaller than 100
were excluded, as were studies with a follow-up period of less than 1 years,
because small studies of brief duration are unlikely to yield enough health-related
outcome information to permit interpretation of treatment effects. Studies were

included in the evidence review only if the reported the effects of the studied
interventions on any of these important health outcomes :

Overall mortality. Cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality. CKD-

related mortality
Myocardial infarction, heart failure, hospitalization for heart failure, stroke
Coronary revascularization (includes coronary artery bypass surgery, coronary
angioplasty and coronary stent placement), other revascularization (includes

carotid, renal, and lower eztremity revascularization)

End-stage renal disease ( ESRD) (ie, kidney failure resulting in dialysis or
transplantation), doubling of creatinine level, halving of glomerular filtration
rate (GFR)

The panel limited its evidence review to RCTs because the are less subject
to bias than other study designs and represent the gold standard for determining
efficacy and effectivencess. The studies in the evidence review were from original
publications of eligible RCTs. These studies were used to create evidence tables
and sum. marytablesthatwere used by the panel for thek deliberations (see
Supplement). Because the panel conducted its own systematic review using
original studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs conducted and
published by other groups were not included in the formal evidence review.
Initial search dates lite literature review were January. 1966, through
December 31.2009, The search strategy and PRISMA diagram for each question is
in the online Supplement. To ensure that no major relevant studies published after
December 31.2009, were excluded from consideration, 2 independent searches of
PubMed and CINAHL between December 2009 and August 2013 were conducted
white the sam MeSH terms as the original search. Three panel members reviewed
the results, panel limited the inclusion criteria ofthis second search to the
following. 1) The study was a major study in hypertension (eg.ACCORD-

BP.SPS3; however. SPS did not meet strict inclusion criteria because it included
nonhypertensive participants. SPS3 would not have changed our conclusions/
recommendations because the only significant finding supporting a lower goal for
BP occurred in an infequent secondary outcome). (2) The study had atleast 2000
participants. (3) The study was multicentered. (4) The study met all the other
inclusion/exclusion criteria. The relatively high threshold of 2000 participants was
used because of the markedly lower event rates observed in recent RCTs such as
ACCORD, suggesting that larger study populations are needed to obtain
interpretable results. additionally, all panel members were asked to identify newly
published studies for consideration if they met the above criteria. No additional
clinical trials met the previously described inclusion criteria. Studies selected were
rated for quality wing NHI-BI standardized quality rating tool (see Supplement)
and were only included if rated as good or fair.
An external methodology team performed the literature review,
summarized data from selected papers into evidence tables. and provided a
summary of the evidence. From this evidence review, the panel crafted evidence
statements and voted on agreement or disagreement with each statement. For
approved evidence statements, the panel then voted on the quality of the evidence
(Table 2). Once all evidence statements for each critical question were identified,
the panel reviewed the evidence statements to craft the clinical recommendations,
voting on each recorrinendadotartdonthestrength of the recommendation(table 3).
For both evidence statements and recommendations, a record of the vote count
(for, against, or recusal) was made without attribution, The panel attempted to
achieve 100% consensus whenever possible, but a two-thirds majority was
considered acceptable. with the exception of recommendations based on
expertopinion, which required a 75% majority agreement to approve.

Results (Recommendations)
The following recommendations are based on the systematic evidence
review described above (box). Recommendations 1 trough 5 address questions 1
and 2 concerning thresholds and goals for BP treatment. Recommendations 6,7,
and 8 address question 3 concerning selection of anihypertensive drugs.
Recommendation 9 is a summary of strategies based on ezpert opinion for starting
and adding antihypertensive drugs. The evidence statemens supporting the
recommendations are in the online supplement.
Recommendation 1
In the general population aged 60 years or older, initiate pharmacologic
treatmert to lower BP at systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 150 mm Hg or higher or
diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mm Hg or higher and treat to a goal SBP
lower than 150 mm Hg and goal DBP lower than 90 mm Hg.
Strong Recommendation-Grade A

Corollary Recommendation
In the general population aged 60 years or older, if pharmacologic
treatment for high BP results in lower achieved SBP (for example, <140 mm Hg)
and treatment is not associated with adverse effects on health or quality of life,
treatment does not need to be adjusted.
Eighert Opinion - Grade E
Recommendatoin 1 is based on evidence statements 1 through 3 from
question 2 in which there is moderate-to high-fir evidence from RCTs that in the
general population aged 60 years or older, treating high BP to a goal of lower than
150/190 mm Hg reduces stroke, heart failure, and coronarey heart disease (CHD).
There is also evidence (albeit low quality) from evidence statement 6, queston 2

that setting a goal SBP of lower than 140 mm Hg in this age group provides no
additional benefit compared with a higher goal SBP of 140 to 160 mm Hg or 140
to 149 mm Hg.
To answerquestion 2 about goal BP, the panel reviewed all RCTs that met
the eligibility criteria and that either compared treatment with a particular goal vs
no treatment or placebo or compared treatment with one BP goal with treatment to
another BP goal. The trials on which these evidence statements and this
recommendation are based include HYVET, Syst-Eur, SHEP, JATOS, BALISH,
and CARDIO-SIS. Strenghs, limitations, and other considerations related to this
evidernce review are prsented in the evidence statement narratives and clearly
support the benefit of trating to a BP lower than 150 mm Hg.
The corollary to recommendation 1 reflects that there are many treated
hypertensive patients aged 60 years or older in whom SBP is currently lower than
140 mm Hg, based on implementation of previous guideline recommendations.
The panels opinion is that in these patients, it is not necessary to adjust
medication to allow BP toincrease. In 2 of the trials that provide evidence
supportingan SBP goal lower than 150 mm Hg, the average treated SBP was 143
mm Hg, Many participants in those sutdies achieved an SBP lower than 140 mm
Hg with treatment that was generally well tolerated two other trials. Suggest there
was no benefit for an SBP goal lower than 140 mm Hg, but the confidence
intervals around the effect sizes were wide and did not axclude the possibility of a
clinically important benefit. Therefore, the panel included a corollary
recommendation based on expert opinion that treatment for hypertension does not
need to be adjusted if treatment results in SBP lower than 140 mm Hg and is not
associated with adverse effects on health or quality of life
While all panel members agreed that the evidence supporting
recommendation 1 is very strong, the panel was unable to reach unanimity on the

recommendation of a goal SBP of lower than 150 mm Hg. Some members

recommended continuing the JNC 7 SBP goal of lower than 140 mm Hgfor
individuals older than 60 years based on expert opinion. These members
concluded that the evidence was insufficient to raise the SBP target from lower
than 140 than to lower than 150 mm Hg in high-risk groups, such as black
persons, those with CVD including stroke, and those with multiple risk factors.
The panel agreed that more research is needed to identify optimal goals of SBP for
patients with high BP.

Recommendation 2
In the general population younger titan 60 years. initiate pharmacologic
treatment to lower BP at DBP of 90 mm Hg or higher and treat to a goal DBP of
lower than 90 mm Hg.
For ages 30 Naough59years. Strong Recommendation -Grade A
Far ages 18 through 29 yeas. Expert Opinion - Grade E
Recommendation 2 is based on high-quality evidence from 5 DBP trials
(HDFP Hypertension-stroke cooperative, MRC, ANBP and VA Cooperative) that
demonstrate improvements in health outcome among adults aged 30 throuh 69
yeas withe elevated BP. Initiation of antthype tensive treatment at a DBP threshold
of 90 mm Hg or higher and treatment to a DBPg oal of lower than 90 mm Hg
reduces cerebrovascular events, heart failure, and overall mortality (question 1,
evidence statements 10,11,13: question 2, evidencestatement10), In furher support
fora DBP goal of lower than 90 mm Hg, the panel found evidence that there is
nobenefit i n treat Ing patients to a goad of either 80 mm Hg or lower or 85 mm
Hg or lower compared with 90 mm Hg or lower based on the HOT trial, in which
patients were randomized to these 3 goals without statistically significant

differences between treatment groups in the primary or secondary out comes

(question 2- evidencestatement14).
In adults younger than 30 years, there are no good- or fair quality
RCTs that assessed the benefits of treating elevated DBPD on health outcomes
(question 1, evidence statement 14). In the absence of such evidence, it is the
panels opinions that in adults younger than 30 years, the DBP threshold and goal
should be the same as in adults 30 through 59 years of age.
Recommendation 3
In the general population younger than 60 years, initiate pharmacologic
treatment to lower BP at SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher and treat to a goal SBP of
lower than 140 mm Hg. Expert Opinion-Grade E

Recommendation 3 is based on expert opinion, While there is high-quality

evidence to support a specific SBP threshold and goal for persons aged 60 years
orolder (See recommendationl), the panel found insufficient evidence from goodor fair-quality RCTs to support a specific SBP threshold or goal for persons
younger than 60 years. in the absence of such evidence, the panel recommends a n
SBP treatment threshold of 140 mm Hg o higher and an SBP treatment goal of
lower than 140 mm Hg based on several factors.
First, in the absence of any RCTs that compared thecurrent SBP standard
of 140 mm Hg with another higher or lower standard in this age group, there was
no compelling reason to change current recommendations, Second in the DBP
trials that demonstrated the benefit of treating DBP to lower than 90 mm Hg,
many of the study participants who achieved DBD of lower than 90 mm Hg were
also likely to have achieved SBPs of lower than 140 mm Hg with treatment, It is
not possible to determine whether the outcome benefits in these trials were due to
lowering DBP, SBP, or both. Third, given the recommended SBP goal of lower

than 140 mm Hg in adults with diabetes o r CKD (recommerda 4 and 5), a similar
SBP goal for the general population younger than 60 years may facilitate
guideline implementation.

Recommendation 4
In the population aged 18 years or older with CKD, initiate pharmacologic
treatment to lower BP at SBP of 140 mm Hg or higher or DBP of 90 mm Hg or
higher and treat to goal SBP of lower than 140 mm Hg and goal DBP lower than
90 mm Hg.
Expert Opinion - Grade E

Based on the inclusion criteria used in the RCTs reviewed by the panel,
this recommendation applies to individuals younger than 70 years with an
estimated GFR or measured GFR less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 and in people of
any age with albuminuria defined as greater than 30 mg of albumin/g of creatinine
at any level of GFR.
Recommendation 4 is based on evidence statements 15-17 from question
2. In adults younger tahn 70 years with CKD, the evidence is insufficient to
determine if there is a benefit in mortality, or cardiovascular or cerebrovascular
health outcomes with antihypertensive drug therapy to a lower BP goal (for
example. <130/80 nxn Hg) compared with a goal of lower than 140190 mm Hg
(question 2, evidence statement 15). There is evidence of moderate quality demonstrating n o benefit in slowing the progression of kidney disease from treatment
with arntihypertensive drug therapy to a lower BP goal (for example, <130/80 mm
Hg) compared with a goal of lower than 140190 mm Hg (question 2, evidence
statement 16).

Three trials that met our criteria for review addressed the effect of
antihypertensive drug therapy on change in GFR or time to development of
ESRD, but only one trial addressed cardiovascular disease end points. Blood
pressure goals differed across the trials, with 2 trials (AM and MDRD) using
mean arterial pressure and different targets by age, and 1 trial (REIN-2) using only
DBP goals. None of the trials showed that treatment to a lower BP goal (for
example, <130/80 mm Hg) significantly lowered kidney or cardiovascular disease
end points compared with a goal of lower than 140/90 mm Hg.
For patients with proteinuria (>3 g/24 hours), post hoc analysis from only
1 study (MDRD) indicated benefit from treatment to a lower BP goal (<130/80
mm Hg). and this related to kidney outcomes only 22 Although post hoc
observational analyses of data from this trial and others suggested benefit from the
lower goal at lower levels of proteaturia. this result was not seen in the primary
analyses or in AASK or REIN-2 (question 2, evidence statement 17).
Based on available evidence the panel cannot make a recommendation for
a BP goal for people aged 70 years or older with GFR less than 60 ml/min/1.73
m2. The commonly used estimating equations for GFR were not developed in
populations with signrficant numbers of people older than 70 years and have riot
been validated in older adults, No outcome trials reviewed by the panel included
large numbers of adults older than 70 years with CKD. Further, the diagnostic
criteria for CKD do not consider age-related decline in kidney function as
reflected in estimated GFR. Thus, when weighing the risks and benefits of a lower
BP goal for people aged 70 years or older with estimated GFR less than 60
ml/min/1.73 m2, antihypertensive treatment should be individualized, taking into
consideration factors such as frailty, comorbidities, and albuminuria.
Recommendation 5

in the population aged 18 years or older with diabetes, initiate pharcacologic

treatmet to lower BP at SBP of 140 mm Hgor higher or DBP of 90 mm Hg or
higher and treat to a goal SBP of lower than 140 mm Hg and goal DBP lower than
90 mm Hg. Exert Opinion-Grade E
Recommendation 5 is based on evidence statements 18-21 from question
2, which address BP goals ind adults with both diabetes and hypertension. There
is moderate-quality evidence from 3 trials (SHEP, Syst-qur, and UKPDS) that
treatment to an SBP goal of lower than 150 mm Hg improves cardiovascular and
verebrovascular health out-comes and lowers mortality (see question 2, evidence
statement 18) in adults with diabetes and hypertension. No RCTs addressed
whether treatment to an SBP goal of lower than 140 rmn Hg compared with a
higher goal (for example. <150 non Hg) improves heft outcomes in adults with
diabetes ancl hypertension. In the absence of such evidence. the panel
recommends an SBP goal of lower than 140 mm Hg and a DBP goal lower than
90 mm Hg in this population based on expert opinion, consistent with the BP
goals in recommendation 3 for the general population younger than 60 years with
hypertension, Use of a consistent BP goal in the general population younger than
60 years and in adults with diabetes of any age may facilitate guideline
implementation. This recomnendation for an SBP goal of lower than 140 mm Hg
in patients with diabetes is also supported by the ACCORD-BP trial, in which the
control group used this goal and had similar outcomes compared with a lower
goal.
The panel recognizes that the ADVANCE trial tested the effects of
treatment to lower BP on major macrovascular and microvascular events in adults
with diabetes who were at increased risk of CVD, but the study did riot meet the
panel's inclusion criteria because perticipants were eligible irrespective of
baselinde BP, and there were no randomized BP treatment thresholds or goals.

The panel also recognizes that an 58P goal of lower than 130 mm Hg is
conimonly recommerided for adults adults with diabetes and hypertension,
However, this lower SBP goal is not supported by any RCT that randomized
participants into 2 or more groups in which treatment was initiated at a lower SBP
threshold than 140 mm Hg or into treatment groups in which the SBP goal was
lower than 140 min Hg and that assessed the effect of a flower SBP threshold or
goal on important health outcomes. The only RCT that compared an SBP
treatment goal of lower than 140 mm Hg with a lower SBP goal and assessed the
effects on important health outcomes is ACCORD-BP, which compared an SBP
treatment goal of lower than 120 mm Hg with a goal lower than 140 mm Hg.
There was no difference in the primary outcome, a composite of cardiovascular
death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke. There were also ho differences in any of the secondary outcomes except for a reduction in stroke.
However, the incidence of stroke in the group treated to lower than 140 mm Hg
was much lower than expected. so the absolute difference m fatal and nonfatal
stroke between the 2 groups was only 0.21% per year. The panel concluded that
the results from ACCORD-BP did riot provide sufficient evidence to recommend
an SBP goal of lower than 120 mm Hg in adults with diabetes and hypertension.
The panel similarly recommends the same goal DBP in adults with diabetes and
hypertension as in the general population (<90 m m Hg). Despite some existing
recommendatians that adults with diabetes and hypertension should be treated to a
DBP goal of lower than 80 mm Hg. the panel did not find sufficient evidence to
support such a recommendation. For example, there are no good-or fair-quality
RCTswith mortality as a primary or secondary prespecified outcome that
compared a DBP goal of lower than 90 mm Hg with a lower goal (evidence
statement 21).

In the HOT trial, which is frequently cited to support a lower DBP goal,
investigators compared a DBP goal of 90 mm Hg or lower vs a goal of 80 mm Hg
or lower. The lower goal was associated with a reduction in a composite CVD
outcome (question 2. evidence statement 20), but this was a post hoc analysis of a
small subgroup (8%) of the study population that was not prespecified. As a
result, the evidence was graded as low quality.
Another commonly cited study to support a tower DBP goal is UKPDS.
which had a BP goal of lower than 150/85 mm Hg in the more-intensively treated
group compared with a goal of lower than 180/105 mm Hg in the less-intensively
treated group. UKPDS did show that treatment in the lower goal BP Woup was
associated with a significantly lower rate of stroke, heart failure, dabetesrelatedend points, and deaths related to dabetes. However, the comparison in
UKPDS was a DBP goal of lower than 85 mm Hg vs lower than 150 mm Hg
therefore, it is not possible to determine whether treatment to a DBP goal of lower
than 85 mm Hg improves outcomes compared with treatment to a DBP goal of
lower than 90 mm Hg. in addition. UKPDS was a mixed systolic and diastolic BP
goal study (combined SBP and DBP goals), so it cannot be determined if the
benefits were due to lowering SBP DBP or both.
Recommendation 6
In the general nonblack population, including those with diabetes, initial
antihypertensive treatment should include athiazide-typeduretc. calcium channel
blocker (CCB). angiotersin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), or angiotensin
receptor blocker (ARB).
Moderate Recommendation - Grade B
For this recommendaton, only RCTs that compared one dam of
antihypertensive medication to another and assessed the effects on health

outcomes were reviewed; placebo-controlled RCTs were not included. However,

the evidence review was informed by mayor placebo-controlled hypertension
trials, including 3 federally funded trials (VA Cooperative Trial, HDFP. and
SHEP). that were pivotal in demonstrating that treatment of hypertension with
antihypertensive medications reduces cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events
and/or mortality. These trials all used thiazide-type diuretics compared with
placebo or usual care as the basis of therapy. Additional evidence that BP lowering
reduces risk comes from trials of -blocker vs placebo and CCB vs placebo.
Each of the 4 drug classes recommended by the panel in recommendation
6 yielded comparable effects on overall mortalitya nd cardiovascular.
cerebrovascular, and kidney outcomes, with one exception: heart failure. Initial
treatment with a thiazide-type diuretic was more effective than a CCB or ACEI
(question 3. evidence statements 14 and 15). and an ACEI was more effective than
a CCB (question 3, evidence statement 1) in improving heart failure out comes.
While the panel recognizedtnat improved heart failure out comes was an
important finding that should be considered when selecting a drug for initial
therapy for hypertension, the panel did not conclude that it was compelling
enaough within the context of the overall body of evidence to preclude the use of
the other drug classes for initial therapy. The panel also acknowledged that the
evidence supported BP control, rather than a specific agent used to achieve that
control, as tho most relevan consideration for this recommendations.
The panel did not recommendded -blockers for the initial treatment of
hypertension because in one study use of -blockers resulted in a higher rate of
the primary composite outcome of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or
stroke compared to use of an ARB, a finding that was driven largely by an
increase in stroke (question 3, evidence statenment 22). In the onther studies that
compared a -blocker to the 4 recommended drug classes, the -bloker performed

similarly to the other drugs (question 3, evidence statement 8) or the evidence was
insufficient to make a determination (question 3, evidence statements 7,12.21.23.
and 24).
-blokers were not recommended as first-line therapy because in one
study initial treatment with an a-blocker resulted in worse cerebrovascular, heart
failure. and combined cardiovascular outcomes than initial treatment with a
diuretic (question 3. evidence statement 13). There were no RCTs of good or fair
quality comparing the folowing drug classes to the 4 recommended classes: dual
, - + -blocking agents (eg, carvedilol). vasodilating -blockers (eg, nebivolol),
central a2,- adrenergiz agonists (eg. clonidine). direct vasodilators (eg,
hydralazine), aldosterone receptor antagonists (eg spironolactone), adrenergic
neuronal depleting agents (reserpine). and loop diuretics (eg, furosemide)
(question 3, evidence statement 30). Therefore, these classes are not recammended
as first- line therapy. In addtion. noeligible RCTs were identified that compared a
diuretic vs an ARB, or an ACEI vs an ARB. ONTARGET was not eligible because
hypertension was not required for inclusion in the study.
Similar to those for the general population. this recommendation applies to
those with diabetes because trials including participant with diabetes showed no
differences in mator cardiovascular or cerebrovascular outcomes from those in the
general population (question 3, evidence statements 36-48).
The following important points should be noted. First, many people will
require treatment with more than one anihypertensive drug to achieve BP control,
whilw this recommendation applies only to the choice of the initial
antihypertensive drug, the panel suggests that any of these 4 classes would be
good choices as add-on agents (recomendation 9). Second,this recommendation is
specific

for

thiazide-type

diuretics,

which

include

thiazide

diuretics,

chlorthalidone, and indapamide; it does not include loop or potassium-sparing

diuretics. Third, its is important that medications be dosed adequately to achieve

results similar to those seen in the RCTs (Table 4). Fourth, RCTs that were limited
to specific nohhypertensive populations, such as those with coronary artery
disease or heart failure. were not reviewed for this recommendation. Therefore,
recommendation 6 should be applied with caution to these populabons.
Recommendations for those with CKD are addressed in recommendation 8.
Recommendation 7
In the general black population. including those with diabetes, initial
antihypertensive treatment should include a thiazide-type diuretic or CCB.
For general black population; Moderate Recommendation-Grede B
For black patients with diabetes, Weak Recommendation-Grade C

Remmmerdatiot 7 is based on evidence statements from question 3. In

cases for which evidence for the black population was the Sam as for the general
population, the evidence statements for the general population apply to the black
population. However, there are some cases for which the results for black persons
were different from the results for the general population (question 3. evidence
statements 2.10. and 17). In those cases, separate evidence statements were
developed.
This recommendation stems from a prespecified subgroup analysis of data
from a single large trial (ALLHAT) that was rated good. In that study, a thiazidetype diuretic was shown to be more effective in improving cerebrovascular, heart
failure, and combined cardiovasclar outcomes compared to an ACEI in the black
patient subgroup, which included large number of diabetic and nondiabetic
participants (question 3, evidence statements 10,15 and 17). Therefore, the
recomendation is to choose tiazide-type diuretics over ACEI for black patiens.
Although a CCB was less effective than a diuretic in preventing heart failure in

the black subgroup of this trial (question 3. evidence statement 14), there were no
differences in other outcomes (cerebrovascular. CHD, combined cardiovascular;
and kidney outcomes, or overall mortality) between a CCB and a diuretic
(question 3. evidence statements 6,8,11.18, and 19). Therefore, both thiazide-type
diuretics and CCSs are recommended as frst-krhe therapy for hypertension in
black patients.
The panel recommended a CCB over an ACEI as first-line therapy in black
patients because there was a 51% higher rate (relative risk. 1.51; 95% Cl. 1.221,86) of stroke in black persons in ALLHAT with the use of an ACEI as initial
therapy compared with use of a CCB (question 3, evidence statement U-12 The
ACEI was also less effective in reducing BP in black individuals compared with
the CCB (question 3. evidence statement 2). There were no outcome studies
meeting our eligibility criteria that compared diuretics or CCBs vs -blockers,
ARBs, or other renin-angiotensin system inhibitors in black patients.
The recommendation for black patients with diabetes is weaker than the
recommendation for the general black population because outeomes for the
comparison between initial use of a CCB compared to initial use of an ACEI in
blade persons with diabetes were not reported in any of the studies eligible for our
evidence review.
Therefore, this evidence was extrapolated from findings in the black
participants in ALLHAT, 46% of whom had diabetes. Additional support comes
from a post hoc analysis of black participants in ALL HAT that met the criteria for
the metabolic syndrome, 68% of whom had diabetes. Howevers this study did not
meet the criteria for our review because it was a post hoc analysis. This
recommendation also does not address black persons with CKD, who are
addressed in recomendation 8.
Recommendation 8

In the population aged 18 years or older with CKD and hypertension,

initial (or add-on) antihypertensive treatment should include an ACEI or ARB to
improve kidney outcomes. This applies to all CKD patiens with hypertension
regardless of race or diabetes status.
Moderate Recommendation - Grade B
The evidence is moderate (question 3l evidence statements 31-32) that
treatment with an ACEI or ARB improves kidney outcomes for patients with
CKD. This recommendation applies to CKD patients with and with out
proteinuria, as studies using ACEls or ARBs showed evidence of improved kidney
outcomes in both groups.
This recommendation is based primarily on kidney outcomes because
there is less evidence favoring ACEI or ARB for cardiovascular outcomes in
patients with CKD. Neither ACEIs nor ARBs improved cardiovascular outcomes
for CKD patients compared with a-blockers or CCB (question 3, evidence
statements 33-34). Onetrial (IDNT) did show improvement in heart failure
outcomes withan ARB compared with a CCB. but this trial was restricted to a
population with diabetic nephropathy and proteinuria (question 3, evidence
statement 5). There are no RCTs in the evidence review that directly con ACEI to
ARB for any cardiovascular outcome. However both are renins-angiotensin
system inhibitors and have been shown to have similar effects on kidney
outcomes (question 3, evidence statements 31-32).
Recommendation 8 is specifically directed at those with CKD and
hypertension and addresses the potential benefit of specific drugs an kidney
outcomes. The AASK study showed the benefit of an ACEI on kidney outcomes
in black patients with CKD and provides additional evidence that supports ACEI
use in that population. Additional trials that support the benefits of ACEI or ARB
therapy did not meet our inclusion criteria because they were not restricted to

patients with hypertension. Direct resin inhibitors are not in cluded in this
recommerdation because there were no studies demonstrating their benefits on
kidney or cardiovascular outcomes.
The panel noted the potential conthct between this recommendation to use
an ACEI or ARB in those with CKD and hypertension and the recommendation to
use a diuretic or CCB (recommendation 7) in black persons: what if the person is
black and has CKD? To answer this, the panel relied on expert opinion, in black
patients with CKD and proteinuria, an ACEI or ARB is recommended as initial
therapy because of the higher likelihood of progression to ESRD.z1 In black
patients with CKD but without proteinuuia, the choice for Initial therapy is less
dear and includes a thiazide-typediuretic, CCB. ACEI, or ARB. If an ACEI or
ARB is not used as the initial drug, then an ACEI or ARB can be added as a
second-line drug if necessary to achieve goal BP Because the maj city of patients
with CKD and by pertension will require more than 1 drug to achieve goal BP, it
is an ticipated that an ACEI or ARB will be used either as initial therapy or as
second-line therapy in addition to a diuretic or CCB in black patients with CKD.
Recommendation 8 applies to adults aged l8 years or older with CKD, but there is
no evidence to support resin-angiotensin system Inhibitor treatment in those older
than 75 years. Although treatment with an ACEI or ARB may be beneficial in
those older than 75 years. use of a thiazide-type diuretic or CCB is also an option
for individuals with CKD in this age group.
Use of anACEI or anARB will commonly increase serum creatinine and
may produce other metabolic effects such as hyperkalemia, particularly in patients
with decreased kidney function. Although an increase in creatinine or potassium
level does not always require adjusting medication, use of rerin-angiotensin
system inhibitors in the CKD poprdation requires monitoing of electrolyte and

serum creatinine levels. and in some cases. may require reduction in dose or
discontinuation for safety reasons.
Recommendation 9
The main objective of hypertension treatment is to attain and maintain
goal BP. If goal BP is not reached within a month of treatment, increase the dose
of the initial drug or add a second drug from one of the classes in recommendation
6 (thiazide-type diuretic, CCB. ACEI, or ARB). The clinician should continue to
assess BP and adjust the treatment regimen until goal BP is reached. If goal BP
cannot be reached with 2 drugs, add and titrate a third drug from the list provided.
Do riot use an ACEI and an ARB together in the same patient. If goal BP cannot
be reached using the drugs in recommendation 6 because of a amtraindication or
the need to use more than 3 drugs to reach goal BP, antihypertensive drugs from
other classes can be used. Referral to a hypertension specialist may be indicated
for patients in whom goal BP cannot be attained using the above strategy or for
the management of complicated patients for whom additional clinical consultation
is needed.
Expert Opinion Grode E
Recommendation 9 was developed bythe panel in response to a perceived
need for further guidance to assist in implementation of recommendations 1
through & Recommendation 9 is based on strategies used in RCTs that
demonstrated improved patient outcomes and the expentise and clinical expeiece
of panel members. This recommerdation differs from the other recommendations
because it was not developed in response to the 3 critical questions using a
systematic review of the literature. The Figure is an algorithm summarizing the
recommendations, However, this algorithm has not been validated with respect to
achieving improved patient outcomes.

How should clinicians Citrate and combine the drugs recommended in this
report? There were no RCTs and thus the panel relied on expert opinion. Three
strategies (Table 5) have been used in RCTs of high BP treatment but were not
compared with each other. Based on the evidence reviewed for questions 1
through 3 and on the expert opinion of the panel members, it is not known if one
of the strategies results in improved cardiovascular outcomes, cerebrovascular
outcomes, kidney outcomes, or mortality compared with an alternative strategy.
There is not likely to be evidence from well-designed RCTs that compare these
strategies and assess their effects on important health outcomes. There may be
evidence that different strategies result in more rapid attainment of BP goal or in
improved adherence, but those are intermediate outcomes that were not included
in the evidence review. Therefore. each strategy is an acceptable pharmacologic
treatment strategy that can be tailored based on individual circumstances. clinician
and patient preferences, and drug tolerability. With each strategy clinicians should
regularly assess BP, encourage evidence-based lifestyle and adherence interventions. and adjust treatment until goal BP is attained and maintained. In most cases,
adjusting treatment means intensifying therapy by increasing the drug dose or by
adding additional drugs to the regimen. To avoid unnecessary complexity in this
report, the hypertension management algorithm (Figure) does not explicitly define
all potential drug treatment strategies.
Finally, panel members point out that in specific situations, one
antihypertensive drug may be replaced with another if it is perceived not to be
effective or if there are adverse effects.

Limitations

This evidence-based guideline for the management of high BP in adults is

not a comprehensive guideline and is limited in scope becam of thefocused
evidence review tD address the 3 specific quesftns (Table 1). Clinicians often
provide care for patients with numerous comorbidities or other important issues
related to hypertension. but the decision was made to focus on 3 questions
considered to be relevant to most physicians and patients. Treatment adherence
and medication costs were thought to be beyond the scope of this review, but the
panel acknowledges the importance of both issues.
The evidence review did not include observational studies, systematic
reviews, or meta-analyses, and the panel did not conduct its own meta-analysis
based on prespecified inclusion criteria. Thus, information from these types of
studies was not incorporated Into the evidence statements or recommendations.
Although this may be considered a limitaton, the panel decided to focus only on
RCTs because they represent the best scientific evidence and because there werea
substantial number of studies that invluded large number of patients and met our
inclusion criteria. Randomized controlled trials that included participants with
normal BP were excluded from our formal analysis. In cases in which high-quality
evidence was not available or the evidence was weal or absent, the panel relied on
fair-quality evidence, panel members knowledge of the publish tore beyond the
RCTs reviewed, arid personal experience

to make recommendations.

The

duration of the guideline development process following completion of the

systematic search may have caused the panel to miss studies published after our
literature review, however, a bridge search was performed through august 2013,
and the panel found no additional studies that would have changed the
recommendations.
Many of the reviewed studies were conducted when the over all risk of
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality was substantially higher than it is today,

therefore, effect sizes may have been overr estimated. Further, RCTs that enrolled
prehypertensive or ronhypertensive individuals were excluded.Thus,

our

recommendations do not apply to those without hypertension. In many studies

forcused on DBP, participants also had elevated SBP so it was not possible to
determine whether the benefit observed in those trials arose from lowering DBP,
SBP, or both. In addition, the ability to compare studies from different time
periods was limited by differences in clinical trial design and analytic techniques.
While physicians use cost, adherence, and often observational data to
make treatment decisions, medical interventions should whenever possible be
based first and foremost on good science dernonstrating benefits to patients.
Redomized controlled trials are the gold standard for this assessment and thus
were the basis for providing the evidence for our clinical recommendations.
Asthough adverse effects and harms of antihypertensive treatment documented in
the RCTs were considered when the panel made its decisions, the review was not
designed to determine whether therapy-associated adverse effects and harms
resulted in significant changes in important health outcomes. In addition, this
guide line was not endorsed by any federal agency or professional society prior to
publication and thus is a departure from previous JNC reports. The panel
anticipates that an objective assessment of this report following publication will
allow open dialogue among endorsing entities andercourage continued attention to
rigorous methods in guideline development, thus raising the standard for futur
guidelines.

Discussion

The recommendations based on RCT evidence in this guideline differ from

recommendations in other currently used guidelines supported byexpert consensus
consensus (table 6). For example, INC 7 and other recommended guidelines
treatment to low BP goals in patients wirth diabetes and CKD based on
observational studies. Recently, several ideline documents such as thosefrom the
American Diabetes Association have raised the systolic BP goals to values that are
similar to those recommended in this evidence-based guideline. Other guidelines
such as those of the european society of hypertension/ european society of
cardiology also recommend a systolic BP goeal of lower than 150 mm Hg, but it is
not clear at what age cutoff in the general population this goal specifically applies.
This changing landscape is understandable given the lack of clear RCT ecidnec in
many clinical situations.
History of INC 8
The panel was originally constituted as the "Eighth Joint National
Committee on the Prevention. Detection. Evaluation, and Treatment of High
Blood Pressure (JNC 8). In March 2008 NHLBI sent letters inviting the co-chairs
and committee members to serve on JNC 8. The charge to the committee was as
follows. The INC Swill review and synthesize the latest available scientific
evidence. update existiing dutical recommendation and provide guidance to busy
primary care clinicians on the best approaches to manage and control hypertension
in order to minimize patients risk for cardiovascular and other complications."
The committee was also asked to identify and prioritize the most important
questions for the evidence review. In June 2013, NHLBI announced its decision to
discontinue developing clinical guidelines including those in process. instead
partnering witth selected organizations that would develop the guidelines.
Importantly participation in this process required that these organizations be
involved do producing the final content of the report. The panel elected to pursue

publication independently to bring the recommendations to the public in a timely

manner while maintaining the intergrity of the predefined process. This report is
therefore not an NHLBI sanctioned report acrd does not reflect the views of
NHLBI.
Conclusions
It is important to note that this evidence-based guideline has not redefined
high BP and the panel believes that the l40/90 mm Hg definition from INC 7
remains reasonable. The relationship between naturally occurring BP and risk is
linear down tovery low BP. but the benefit of treatingtothese lower levels with
antihypertensive drugs is not established. For all persons with hypertension, the
potential benefits of a healty diet, weight control, and regular exercise cannot be
overemphasized. These lifestyle treatments have the potential to Improve BP
control and even reduce medication needs. Although the authors of this
hypertension guideline did not conduct an evidence revie of lifestyle treatments in
patients taking and not taking antihypertensive medication, we support the
recommendations of the 20113 lifestyle work group.
The recommendations from this evidence-based guideline from panel
members appointed to the eighth joint national committee (JNC 8) offer clinicians
an analysis of what is known and not known about BP treatment tresholds, goals,
and drug treatment strategies to achieve those goals based on evidence from
RCTs. However, these recommendations are not a substitute for clinical
judgement, and decisions about care must carefully consider and incorporate the
clinical characteristics and circumstances of each indivudual patient. W hope that
the algorithm will facilitate implementation and be useful to buy clinicians. The
strong evidence base of this report should infom quality measures for the
treatment of patients with hypertension.