Associated Press
CHICAGO — A French study bolsters evidence that the higher number in blood pressure readings is better than the lower number at predicting heart disease risk, even in middle-age patients.
For years doctors thought it was more important to try to lower the bottom, or diastolic, number to reduce the health risks of high blood pressure, including heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.
While many doctors still focus on diastolic readings, recent research has suggested that the top, or systolic, measure, is more important, especially in the elderly. The new study extends those findings to men age 52 on average.
The results are published in today’s archives of Internal Medicine.
The systolic reading represents pressure when the heart beats; the diastolic shows pressure between beats when the heart relaxes. Optimal blood pressure is 120 over 80 or lower, while high blood pressure is 140 over 90 or higher.
In the study of 4,714 French men, those with systolic readings of 160 or higher faced more than double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease during an average follow-up of 14 years, compared with men whose systolic numbers were under 140. Men with systolic numbers between 140 and 160 faced a lower but still increased risk.
There was no increased cardiovascular risk for men with elevated diastolic numbers.
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