Blood pressure naturally rises from childhood into middle age, but its behavior in older adults has been less clear.
A study by scientists from the University of Exeter has shed new light on this topic, finding that blood pressure gradually decreases in older adults starting about 14 years before the end of life.
This research examined electronic medical records of 46,634 people in the UK who had died at age 60 or older. The participants included both healthy individuals and those with conditions such as heart disease, dementia, or a history of high blood pressure.
The study revealed that blood pressure declines were most significant in people with dementia, heart failure, late-life weight loss, and those who had previously experienced high blood pressure.
However, even healthy individuals without these conditions showed similar long-term declines in blood pressure as they approached the end of life.
This finding challenges the idea that lower blood pressure in older adults is solely due to early deaths among people with high blood pressure. Instead, the researchers suggest that these declines are part of a broader, natural aging process.
For doctors, understanding this trend is critical to providing personalized care for older patients. It’s important to note that this research does not imply that treating high blood pressure in late life is unnecessary.
Older adults should not stop taking their blood pressure medication without consulting their doctors.
The causes of this late-life drop in blood pressure remain unclear, and the researchers emphasize the need for further studies to better understand this phenomenon.
This knowledge could help guide decisions about managing blood pressure in aging populations and improve the quality of care.
In addition to these findings, other studies have highlighted potential risks and benefits associated with blood pressure management.
For instance, black tea has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure, while some commonly prescribed blood pressure medications may increase the risk of heart failure.
These insights further underscore the importance of a careful, individualized approach to blood pressure treatment, especially in older adults.
The study, led by Professor George Kuchel, was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine.
It adds valuable information to the understanding of aging and blood pressure and opens the door for more research into why this decline occurs and how it impacts health.
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