Those whose systolic blood pressure rose steeply

All rights reserved.Other doctors agreed the findings support the need for regular blood pressure checks.Moderately high blood pressure was linked to the highest risk of stroke overall, but the lowest risk of death from heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease, the researchers said.Over two decades, more than 1,000 study participants suffered a stroke.This finding "further underlines the importance of treating people with a high blood pressure, even if it is only moderately elevated," Portegies said.Systolic blood pressure is the force exerted on the arteries when the heart contracts and pushes blood to the rest of the body.Those whose systolic blood pressure rose steeply from mid-life on and those whose high blood pressure dropped after age 65 had the highest risk of stroke or death from other blood pressure-related diseases up to age 80, the study found.However, because the study was done among a mostly white population, it should be replicated in other groups to be certain the findings hold true for all populations, Rogove said.More informationFor more about blood pressure, visit the American Heart Association.People with normal blood pressure that gradually increased had the lowest risk of stroke and a low risk of death from other causes, the researchers found.Also, with age, your blood pressure can change dramatically, and should be checked regularly, the researchers noted.
For this new study, Portegies and her colleagues collected 20 years of data on the systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) of more than 6,700 Dutch adults. Marileen Portegies. The paths that blood pressure took over time appeared to have a bearing on stroke and death from heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and other diseases, Portegies said..High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke.
The highest risk of stroke and death was found in the class with a high mid-life blood pressure and the class that increased steeply in blood pressure," Portegies said."This study shows the importance of routine blood pressure checks and treatment of high blood pressure at early ages to maintain normal, or only modestly elevated, blood pressure," said Dr.
The report was published online May 9 in the journal Hypertension."Our study suggests that looking at someone's blood pressure over time and whether it increases slowly or steeply may provide additional information above only the level of blood pressure at a certain time," said researcher Dr. Participants were ages 55 to 106 and living in a suburb of Rotterdam. She is with the department of epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, cost-effective bearing suppliers the Netherlands. Normal blood pressure in middle age but a steep rise to very high (200 mm Hg)