Hypertension in Elderly

Abstract

Blood pressure increases with age in most people. Being more marked for systolic pressure, this increase leads to an increase in pressure amplitude. This is illustrated by Figure 1 which shows the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of a representative sample of a Belgian village [1]. There is no certainty, however, that this phenomenon continues at an extremely advanced age. Cross-sectional studies are contradictory in this respect. In the 1753 subjects over 60 years old in Edwards' study [2] the systolic pressure shows a quasilinear rise up to the age of 70 and then starts to decrease, while diastolic blood pressure remains stable after the age of 60. In Masters' study as well, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 5757 subjects over 65 years old decreased in women and became stabilized in men after the age of 75 years [3].