Despite efforts to control blood pressure across the United States, scientists from Yale University have found that the number of older people hospitalized due to sudden, sharp increases in blood pressure has significantly risen over the past two decades.
The study examined the progress made in the last 20 years to prevent hospitalization due to acute hypertension. Alarmingly, the researchers found no signs of progress.
Instead, data from Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older showed that hospitalizations for severe blood pressure spikes more than doubled between 1999 and 2019.
Black Americans experienced the most significant increase, with a 6% rise in hospitalization rates compared to a 5.6% overall increase.
Between 2017 and 2019, Black patients had a three times higher rate of hospitalization for these hypertension emergencies.
These hypertension emergencies—marked by dangerously elevated blood pressure levels—require immediate attention and intervention.
Without prompt action, they could lead to target organ damage and conditions such as heart attacks and strokes.
Interestingly, the highest rates of hospitalization for blood pressure spikes were found in the South.
This finding aligns with the concept of a “stroke belt” in the medical literature, which refers to a region in the southeastern United States with notably higher incidences of stroke.
Blood pressure is deemed elevated when consistent systolic readings of 130 mm Hg or higher, or diastolic readings of 80 mm Hg or higher, are observed, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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The study was published in the journal Circulation.
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