Canadian Consensus Conference on Nonpharmacological Approaches to the Management of High Blood Pressure: recommendations.

The issue of nondrug treatment, either as a sole or an adjunct therapy in combination with a drug treatment for high blood pressure (BP), is controversial. In an attempt to resolve controversies and to arrive at a consensus, the Canadian Consensus Conference on Nonpharmacological Approaches to the Management of High Blood Pressure was convened in March 1989 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. State-of-the-art information on seven key nonpharmacological issues about body weight, alcohol, salt, potassium and calcium intake, physical exercise, and relaxation were reviewed, and a multidisciplinary consensus panel arrived at recommendations aimed at those members of the general public who are normotensive, those with high BP, health professionals, and, in some cases, the government and the food industry. This panel also suggested further studies in each of the topic areas.