'Prehypertension' triples heart attack risk

People whose blood pressure is slightly elevated — a condition called prehypertension — have triple the risk of a heart attack compared to those with healthy blood pressure, researchers said Thursday.

The finding, published in the journal Stroke, supports a move by federal and academic heart experts last year that defines prehypertension as blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89. High blood pressure starts at 140/90.

“There is a gray zone, where you are not hypertensive but your blood pressure is not normal either,” said Dr. Adnan Qureshi of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, who led the study.

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