A global leading cause of death today is a class of dreaded disorders called cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which are ailments of the heart and blood vessels, such as arrhythmia, stroke, coronary artery diseases, cardiac arrest, and so on.
The causes for each CVD are different and can be genetic or lifestyle-related, but one key risk factor is hypertension, also known as high blood pressure (BP).
In a new study from the Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Vessel Diseases, researchers found that in 2017, hypertension was a factor in over 2.5 million deaths in China alone, 95.7% of which were due to CVD.
In this study, the team explored exactly how much hypertension puts a person at significant risk of CVD.
They analyzed data from a 26-year follow-up of the Chinese Multi-provincial Cohort Study-Beijing Project.
From the data for the first 15 years, from 1992 to 2007, they calculated the cumulative BP levels of 2429 participants who were free of CVD in 2007.
From the data for 2007 to 2018, the number of CVD incidents among these participants was registered.
Between 2007 to 2018, 207 CVD events had occurred. The incidence of these events was greater among participants with higher cumulative BP. This suggested that cumulative BP was indeed a reliable measure of the risk of CVD.
Further, it appeared that having a cumulative BP level higher than 1970.8/1239.9 mmHg·year—equivalent to maintaining a BP level higher than 131/83 mm/Hg for 15 years—was associated with increased CVD risk.
Conversely, if a participant’s BP was high in 2007 but their cumulative BP over the 15 years preceding was low, their risk of CVD was low.
Thus, cumulative BP was a better indicator of CVD risk than BP measured at one time.
These findings show that long-term exposure to high blood pressure may increase your risk of heart disease, although your current blood pressure level is lower than the diagnostic criterion of hypertension.
For example, a person with a current blood pressure level of 120/70 mmHg, which is within the normal range, could still be at a higher risk of heart disease in the future if his/her blood pressure level used to be higher than 130/80 mmHg for a long time, say years, in the past.
This study underscores the importance of starting BP management early.
Lifestyle changes to keep BP in check, coupled with regular monitoring, can go a long way. In addition, waiting to medicate until the BP levels have become chronically high is not wise.
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The study is published in Chinese Medical Journal. One author of the study is Dr. Jing Liu.
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