Before I enter into my medical posting of today, a few facts and thoughts about the War in Iraq:- Oil prices rose today
- WTI Crude Oil (USA): Up to $100/barrel, dropped to $93/barrel and seems headed towards $95/barrel.
- Brent Crude Oil (Europe): Jumped to $116/barrel, then dropped to $100/barrel and at this moment was up to $102/barrel.
The Forbes Advisor notes a roughly $0.05 increase in the national average from yesterday, and a nearly $1 increase from a month ago.- President Donald Trump met today with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the White House, but couldn't convince her to send any warships to the Strait of Hormuz. As of this moment, the USA and Israel are the only countries involved against Iran.
- However, as Iran keeps sending drones to energy sites of neighboring countries, they are finally "thinking" about retaliating.
- Trump is mulling over possibly invading Kharg Island with U.S. Marines, but could instead send them to the Iran coastline fronting the Strait of Hormuz, which is 300 miles away.
Now on to my posting of the day. Do you have high blood pressure? I do. From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Blood pressure is the pressure that occurs when blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. Learn more about the definition of blood pressure.
- Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.
- In 2023, high blood pressure was a primary or contributing cause of 664,470 deaths in the United States.1
- About 1 in 5 deaths related to COVID-19 were people who had a history of hypertensive disease.1
- Nearly half of adults have high blood pressure (48.1%, 119.9 million). This is defined as a systolic blood pressure greater than 130 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 80 mm Hg or are taking medication for high blood pressure.2
- About 1 in 4 adults with high blood pressure has their blood pressure under control (22.5%, 27.0 million).2
- About half of adults (45%) with uncontrolled high blood pressure have a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. This includes 37 million U.S. adults.2
- About 34 million adults who should be taking medication according to hypertension guidelines may need a prescription or to fill their prescription and start taking it. Almost two out of three of this group (19 million) have a blood pressure of 140/90 mm Hg or higher.2
- High blood pressure costs the United States about $131 billion each year, averaged over 12 years from 2003 to 2014.3
Uncontrolled high blood pressure is common, but some groups of people are more likely to have control over their high blood pressure than others.
- A higher percentage of men (50%) have high blood pressure than women (44%).2
- High blood pressure is more common in non-Hispanic black adults (58%) than in non-Hispanic white adults (49%), non-Hispanic Asian adults (45%), or Hispanic adults (39%).2
- Among those recommended to take blood pressure medication, blood pressure control is higher among non-Hispanic white adults (32%) than in non-Hispanic black adults (25%), non-Hispanic Asian adults (19%), or Hispanic adults (25%).2
In the 1970s, the threshold for high blood pressure was significantly higher than it is today. A reading of
160/95 mmHg was widely accepted as the cutoff separating "normal" from high blood pressure.Medical guidelines and informal "rules of thumb" in the 1970s often allowed for higher readings, especially as people aged:- The "100 + Age" Rule: A common rule of thumb for doctors at the time was that a healthy systolic (top number) blood pressure could be 100 plus the patient's age. For example, a reading of 170 would have been considered acceptable for a 70-year-old.
- Official Cutoffs: In 1977, the first authoritative report from the Joint National Committee (JNC-1) officially set 160/95 mmHg as the cutoff for hypertension.
- Treatment Initiation: Doctors typically did not discuss medication unless the reading exceeded 160/90 or 160/95.
Current Standards (2024–2025)
Modern standards are much more aggressive, driven by research showing that lower blood pressure significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and dementia. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines:
| Category | Systolic (Top #) | Diastolic (Bottom #) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Less than 120 | and | Less than 80 |
| Elevated | 120 – 129 | and | Less than 80 |
| Hypertension Stage 1 | 130 – 139 | or | 80 – 89 |
| Hypertension Stage 2 | 140 or higher | or | 90 or higher |
| Hypertensive Crisis | Higher than 180 | and/or | Higher than 120 |
Key Changes in Recent Guidelines:
- Redefined "Normal": The standard for "normal" is now strictly under 120/80 mmHg.
- Lower Treatment Targets: New 2025 updates encourage a target of less than 130/80 mmHg for all adults, with an even lower goal of under 120 mmHg systolic for those at high cardiovascular risk.
- Dementia Prevention: Modern guidelines specifically recommend maintaining systolic pressure below 130 mmHg to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Finally:
The likelihood of having a blood pressure in this healthy range (that is, less than 120/80 mmHg) depends significantly on age:
- Ages 18–44: Approximately 57.8% have normal blood pressure.
- Ages 45–64: This drops to about 25.3%.
- Ages 65–74: Only 11.2% maintain a normal reading.
- Ages 75 and older: Only 5.0% have normal blood pressure.
- This is one of those games I might just avoid. Sort of when the Hawaii football team a few years ago went to Ohio State. You know it was going to be a slaughter, and it was.
- From a column by Stephen Tsai this morning in the local Star-Advertiser:
- Arkansas won the Southeastern Conference tournament. Ten SEC teams qualified for this basketball madness. Hawaii barely made it to the Big Dance because it won the Big West tournament. This league only qualified Hawaii, one team, from the entire league.
- The Razorbacks spent $10 million to "pay" their players. Hawaii? Maybe $1.2 million.
- Arkansas's Darius Acuff Jr was the SEC Player of the year and a McDonald's All-American as a high school senior. Hawaii's Isaac Johns, our best player, was an Eagle Scout.
- Arkansas' coach John Calipari earns $8.5 million/year, good for another four years. UH's Eran Ganot earns $330,000/year, and could be fired at the end of the month.
- Calipari previously led Kentucky to the Final Four 4 times, and the University Massachusetts twice. This the the UH's first NCAA appearance in a decade.
- The game has not started yet, but by the time I file this posting, I can be confident in predicting that Arkansas will win by at least 20 points. I might come back to adjust this bullet, but maybe that won't be necessary.
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