Controlling High Blood Pressure
2024-25 Edition
Why is it important to control high blood pressure?
High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage. Having your blood pressure checked is an important part of good health care. Blood pressure is normal when it is below 140/90 for people 18 to 59 years of age and below. Blood pressure is normal when it is below 150/90 for patients 60 to 85 years of age. Learn more about what these number mean at the American Heart Association website.
How should doctors help control high blood pressure?
Doctors should work with you to help control your blood pressure to below 140/90, or below 150/90 if you are 60 years or older. Your doctor can help educate you about which foods have little or no salt. Your doctor can also educate you about how to maintain a healthy weight, stay physically active and stop smoking. If your blood pressure is above normal, the doctor can also order medicine that will help lower it.
Talk with your doctor and health plan to find out what other services are available. Many health plans offer additional support and resources for patients who want to better control their blood pressure. These additional services may be educational materials (online and in print), classes or support groups, home blood pressure monitoring, or phone counseling.
What do the stars mean?
The scores show how well each health plan did at making sure patients with hypertension had their blood pressure below 140/90 if they were 18 to 59 years of age, or below 150/90 if they were 60 years or older, which indicates good control. A higher score means more patients got the right care at the right time.
The scores are based on information from at least 30 health plan member administrative records in 2023. Some plans also use patient medical records, which are often more complete and result in higher scores. Plans that decide not to use medical records are likely to have lower scores.
Data Disclaimer
The data source for data for the Report Cards is Quality Compass® 2024 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass® 2024 includes Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) data. Any data display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors. NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass and HEDIS are registered trademarks of NCQA. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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