Editorial commentary: Two years post the ACC/AHA 2017 hypertension guidelines: Where are we now?

Some 18 months later, the hearty discussion surrounding these guidelines and how they compare to others continues. Since the release of the ACC/AHA guideline, other international societies and geographic regions have also published hypertension guidelines, using the same pool of evidence available to shape their recommendations. Regrettably, with time, unless major changes are made, the disease burden and economic cost attributable to uncontrolled hypertension in these LMICs is projected to significantly increase even further. [...]a multipronged approach is essential to improve hypertension control rates and hypertension related disease burden. In 2014, however, the long legacy of the JNC ended when the NIH withdrew from sponsoring guidelines. Since a JNC-8 committee was already in progress and the guidelines in its final stage, a report from the JNC-8 members was released. Importantly, it is worthwhile noting that the ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines are meant for a U.S. audience and may not be applicable outside the U.S., especially in low to middle income countries. [...]focusing on the similarities among the guidelines rather than the differences is likely to be most beneficial to policy makers and clinicians [5].