According to a US study, adults who take medicine to control their high blood pressure could get more benefit by choosing more aggressive target. Individuals who aimed at aggressive high blood pressure treatments were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and lower death risks, the study said.

As per a report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 70 million adults in America suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure. About 50% of them have the condition under control. A number of people do not know how to control their condition, and it makes them vulnerable to a number of health issues, like stroke, heart attack and chronic heart failure.

CDC, leading national public health institute, said about 1,000 adults die in the country due to high blood pressure. When a doctor checks an individual's blood pressure, he gets two numbers. The top numbers measures systolic blood pressure, while the bottom number measures diastolic blood pressure. The blood pressure reading of 120/80 mm Hg is considered as normal.

The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, considered the top number. The study included over 9,300 individuals from the US and Puerto Rico. The participants were at least 50 years old and had the problem of high blood pressure.

Some of the participants were asked to get their systolic blood pressure down to 140 mm Hg, while others were asked to lower systolic blood pressure to 120 mm Hg. The researchers said, "The risk of a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or other cardiovascular event was one-third lower for the people who aimed for the 120 mm Hg target than it was for the people who aimed for the 140 mm Hg target".