Blood pressure and hypertension in an elderly population

Abstract

In order to study the epidemiology of hypertension in the elderly and its relationship to other disease situations, a study was performed on 815 institutionalized elderly people indicating a statistically significant decrease of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age. There is a difference between the population originating in Europe and America and those from Asia and Africa; in the latter group the blood pressure values were significantly higher, specially in females. The prevalence of hypertension as a disease does not differ between younger and older age groups. The lower prevalence in the population studied (28.1%) when compared to data in the literature which indicates prevalence of about 40%, might be due to the fact that the institution population live under sheltered conditions and close medical follow up. In conclusion hypertension in the elderly serves as a major risk factor for several disease situations thus leading to a better survival for those with lower values of blood pressure.

Age-Related Differences in Elastic Properties of the Upper Arm Vascular Bed in Healthy Adults

“…According to the increase in mean arterial pressure (Pmn) with increasing body mass index (table 5), obese males will be more susceptible to developing diastolic or combined hypertension involving an increase in mean arterial blood pressure. These findings agree well with the higher prevalence of hypertension in obesity [27], The significantly higher arterial blood volume [Va(0), Va(80) and Va] in the male by comparison with the female subjects (table 4) fits in with the significantly lower total blood volume found in women than in men at an identical body mass index [28]. Since lean tissue contributes to the blood volume more than fatty tissue, these findings ac tually reflect the higher percentage of fatty tissue in the female.…”

Prevalence, Clinical Correlates, and Treatment of Hypertension in Elderly Nursing Home Residents

“…We found that about 30% of hypertensive patients were not receiving any traditionally known antihypertensive agent, and this is consistent with previous reports. [57][58][59][60] Even after adjusting for many relevant variables, increased age was strongly associated with an increased likelihood of not being treated, whereas high-risk individuals (those with multiple cardiovascular comorbidities) seemed more likely to receive a pharmacological treatment. Because of the limitations of our data, no inferences can be made regarding quality or appropriateness of treatment.…”

Divergent impacts of diabetes severity on systolic and diastolic blood pressure: a comprehensive multivariate analysis

“…The systolic blood pressure data is categorized into three groups: elevated (under 130), hypertension stage 1 (130 to 139), and hypertension stage 2 (above 140). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) are classified into five categories following clinical standards: standard, critical hypertension, low-risk hypertension, medium-risk hypertension, and high-risk hypertension [11].…”