Generalizability of guidelines and physicians' adherence. Case study on the Sixth Joint National Commitee's guidelines on hypertension

Table 1 Recommendation of the JNC VI according to blood pressure and presence of additional risk factors.[17]

Blood pressure*	Recommendation
High normal
Group risk** A	Lifestyle modification
Group risk B	Lifestyle modification
Group risk C	Drug therapy
Stage 1
Group risk A	Lifestyle modification (up to 12 months)
Group risk B	Lifestyle modification (up to 6 months)
Group risk C	Drug therapy
Stage 2/3
Group risk A	Drug therapy
Group risk B	Drug therapy
Group risk C	Drug therapy

* High normal: 130–139/85–89 mmHg. Stage 1: 140–159/90–99 mmHg. Stage 2/3: ≥ 160/100. ** Group risk A: no risk factors (smoke, dyslipidemia, male gender, age ≥ 60 years, family history) or target organ disease (cardiovascular diseases, renal failure) or diabetes mellitus; Group risk B: at least one risk factor with no target organ disease or diabetes mellitus; Group risk C: target organ disease or diabetes mellitus.