Association of Optimal Blood Pressure With Critical Cardiorenal Events and Mortality in High-Risk and Low-Risk Patients Treated With Antihypertension Medications

IMPORTANCE: There are few studies comparing the optimal level of treated blood pressure (BP) between high- and low-risk patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether optimally treated BP is different according to risk status. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Population-based cohort study using data from the National Health Information Database in Korea from 2002 to 2015 and 2006 to 2017. A total of 1 402 975 adults aged 40 to 79 years who had no known cardiorenal disease were included. EXPOSURES: Systolic BP treated with antihypertensive medication. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The yearly rates of critical cardiorenal events and all-cause death were estimated according to the levels of treated systolic BP and the presence of 5 risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, proteinuria, and smoking). RESULTS: During the study periods, 225 103 of 487 412 participants (54.0% male; median [interquartile range] age, 50 [44-59] years) in the primary cohort and 360 503 of 915 563 participants (50.1% male; median [interquartile range] age, 52 [46-60] years) in the secondary cohort received antihypertensive treatment. In total, 28 411 of 51 292 cardiorenal incidents and 33 102 of 72 500 deaths were noted in ever-treated participants. The absolute increase in cardiorenal and mortality risk associated with inadequately treated BP was greater in participants with multiple risk factors than in those with 1 or 0 risk factors. The hazard ratios for critical cardiorenal events increased as the treated systolic BP increased to more than 130 to 140 mm Hg. The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality for patients with 3 or more risk factors and treated systolic BP within the range of 110 to 119 mm Hg was 1.21 (95% CI, 1.07-1.37); 130 to 139 mm Hg, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.98-1.11); 140 to 149 mm Hg, 1.12 (95% CI, 1.05-1.20); 150 to 159 mm Hg, 1.21 (95% CI, 1.11-1.32); and 160 mm Hg or greater, 1.46 (95% CI, 1.32-1.62) compared with high-risk patients with BP of 120 to 129 mm Hg. For participants with 1 or 0 risk factors and treated systolic BP within the range of 110 to 119 mm Hg, the hazard ratio was 1.14 (95% CI, 1.07-1.22); 130 to 139 mm Hg, 0.97 (95% CI, 0.93-1.02); 140 to 149 mm Hg, 1.00 (95% CI, 0.91-1.09); 150 to 159 mm Hg, 1.06 (95% CI, 0.99-1.14); and 160 mm Hg or greater, 1.26 (95% CI, 1.15-1.37). However, when categorized using cardiovascular risk calculators, there was no consistent trend in mortality thresholds of BP across the risk score categories. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These results suggest that intensive BP control is appropriate for reducing all-cause mortality in addition to cardiorenal risk in higher- rather than lower-risk patients. However, caution may be required when determining BP targets using current risk calculators.