Screening for hypertension in adults: protocol for evidence reviews to inform a Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care guideline update

Table 2 Final set of outcomes deemed to be of critical or important for guideline development and decision-making

Outcomes	Priority
*Potential benefit of reduced*
All-cause mortality	Critical
CVD-related mortality	Critical
Macrovascular complications (e.g., myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial disease)	Critical
Microvascular complications (e.g., renal disease, retinal disease)	Important
*Potential harm of increased*
Adverse effects of antihypertensive treatment	Important
Overdiagnosis ^a	Important
Psychosocial impact of screening	Important

^aThe issue of overdiagnosis in hypertension is complex. Hypertension may be considered either a disease or a risk factor for cardiovascular events. We may dichotomize individuals as being hypertensive or not or assign them a risk of future event. These distinctions and the different recommended thresholds for diagnosis are important considerations in estimating the magnitude of overdiagnosis in hypertension

ISSN: 2046-4053