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The recent article by Hyman and Pavlik¹ reported the hypertension treatment practices by primary care physicians based on a survey conducted in 1996. I agree that in the past a significant proportion of primary care physicians have not sought the treatment goals of a systolic blood pressure of less than 140 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure of less than 90 mm Hg. We now have data documenting the reduction of cardiovascular events, especially in older patients, when these goals are achieved. However, this survey was conducted in 1996, when The Fifth Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC V)² guidelines were in effect. Since then, awareness of strict control of hypertension in the United States has increased as more physicians have become familiar with the current JNC VI guidelines.³

This article,¹ however, may have exaggerated the slackness on the . . . [Full Text of this Article]