Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Heart Disease, Lancet / 03.06.2014
Benefits of Managing Mild Hypertension in Younger Patients
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Eleni Rapsomaniki, PhD
The Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research
Department of Epidemiology & Public Health
University College London London
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Rapsomaniki: Our data shows that hypertension is associated with considerable reduction in CVD-free life expectancy. Based on our estimates a 30-year old with hypertension suffered from CVD 5 years earlier compared to a similarly aged individual with normal blood pressure.
We noted substantial heterogeneity in the associations of blood pressure with specific cardiovascular outcomes. For example a 20 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure was associated with ~40% higher risk of stable angina, and intracerebral or subarachnoid haemorrhage but less than 10% increase in risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
In all age groups from 30 to over 80 people with a systolic blood pressure 90–114 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure of 60–74 mm Hg had the lowest risk of all cardiovascular diseases, and we found no J-shape associations.
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