Editor-in-Chief's Picks From 2014: Part Two

Valentin Fuster
2015 Journal of the American College of Cardiology  
As I spent countless hours pouring over hundreds of manuscripts to select those that rose to the top over the past year, I became incredibly excited about being part of a Journal that produces such wonderfully rich and diverse content each year. I have personally selected the papers (both original investigations and review articles) from 13 distinct specialties for your review. There are approximately 150 articles selected across this 2-part series, which represents less than 3% of the papers
more » ... bmitted to JACC in 2014. In order to present the full breadth of this important research in a consumable fashion, we will present these manuscripts over the course of 2 issues of JACC. A report from panel members appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee titled "2014 Evidence-Based Guideline for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults" has garnered much attention due to its major change in recommendations for hypertension treatment for patients $60 years of age and for their treatment goal. In response, certain groups have opposed the decision to initiate pharmacologic treatment to lower blood pressure (BP) at systolic BP $150 mm Hg and treat to a goal systolic BP of <150 mm Hg in the general population age $60 years. This paper contains 3 sections-an introduction followed by the opinions of 2 writing groups-outlining objections to or support of maintaining this proposed strategy in certain at-risk populations, namely African Americans, women, and the elderly. Several authors argue for maintaining current targets, as opposed to adopting the new recommendations, to allow for optimal treatment for older women and African Americans, helping to close sex and race/ethnicity gaps in cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality (1).
doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2014.12.022 pmid:25677432 fatcat:sgbzuigxmvcuxefxbr37czyuve