Hey everyone,
As you know, the NPTE goes through major updates every 5 years and then very minor updates on a regular basis in between.
For the 2018 major update, the biggest change was the addition of a Lymphatic System section and some minor reallocation of items, especially in the musculoskeletal system.
One of the other big changes for 2018 was the update of normal Blood Pressure Guidelines.
Essentially, the old blood pressure guidelines were published in 2003 and updated in 2014. These guidelines contained the classic Normal, Prehypertension, and Hypertension categories.
In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association provided an entirely new classification system for blood pressure guidelines as follows:
| ACC/AHA Guideline | |
| Classification | Blood Pressure Criteria |
| Normal | <120 mmHG AND <80 mmHG |
| Elevated | 120-129 mmHG AND <80mmHG |
| Stage 1 Hypertension | 130-139 mmHG OR 80-89 mmHG |
| Stage 2 Hypertension | ≥140 mmHG OR ≥ 90 mmHG |
As you can imagine, this will have a minor impact on the NPTE, but the new blood pressure guidelines will be tested and it’s definitely worth having them in mind as you prepare for the exam.
For more great tips and ways to study, check out our FREE course at https://courses.ptfinalexam.com/p/how-to-pass-the-npte/?
Check out the video and NPTE practice question here:
http://www.apta.org/Blogs/PTTransforms/2018/3/27/ChangesBPGuidelines/