Blood pressure tends to rise steadily from childhood through middle age, but what happens to it later in life has remained less understood.
Now, researchers from the University of Exeter have uncovered an important clue: in older adults, blood pressure begins to drop slowly about 14 years before death. This discovery sheds light on how our bodies change as we grow older and could help improve the way we care for aging individuals.
For a long time, doctors have noticed that some older adults experience a fall in blood pressure, especially near the end of life. Many believed this was caused by medication or by illnesses like heart disease. However, this new study suggests that a long-term decline in blood pressure may be a natural part of the aging process itself—not just a sign of sickness.
The research team studied the medical records of over 46,000 people in the UK who died at age 60 or older. The group included both people who had been healthy and those with serious health conditions such as heart disease, dementia, or severe weight loss. The researchers looked at blood pressure readings from the last years of these people’s lives to find patterns.
As expected, people with illnesses like heart failure or dementia showed the most noticeable drops in blood pressure. However, the big surprise was that even people without these conditions—those who were generally healthy—also showed a steady decline in blood pressure during the final years of life.
This finding suggests that falling blood pressure in old age isn’t always caused by disease or medical treatment. Instead, it may be part of how the body changes naturally as people grow older. Even people who had high blood pressure earlier in life eventually saw their readings go down.
The researchers say this information could help doctors make better decisions when treating older adults. For example, if an elderly patient’s blood pressure begins to fall, it may not always mean something is wrong. It could just be part of the body’s natural aging process.
However, that doesn’t mean people should stop treating high blood pressure. Medication is still important for many older adults, especially when blood pressure remains high enough to pose health risks.
This study highlights the need for personalized care. Doctors should consider each person’s overall health when deciding how to manage their blood pressure. A drop in blood pressure may not be a cause for alarm on its own, but it should be understood in the context of the person’s full medical history.
It also points to the importance of regular monitoring. Blood pressure isn’t a fixed number—it can change over time, especially in older adults. That’s why it’s helpful to keep track of readings and talk with a doctor about what those changes might mean.
Meanwhile, research into blood pressure continues to grow. Some studies suggest that black tea may help lower blood pressure, while others show that some blood pressure medications could increase the risk of heart failure in certain cases. This all shows just how complex blood pressure management is and why tailored treatment is so important.
The study, led by Professor George Kuchel, was published in JAMA Internal Medicine. It offers a new way of thinking about aging and could lead to better support for older people as they move into the final years of life.
By understanding how blood pressure changes naturally with age, doctors and families can work together to make smarter, more compassionate choices about care.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that could increase high blood pressure risk, and people with severe high blood pressure should reduce coffee intake.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and results showing plant-based foods could benefit people with high blood pressure.
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