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People in Their 50’s Live Much Longer with Normal
Blood Pressure
July 6, 2005 - People in their 50s who have normal
blood pressure could live up to five years longer than those with
hypertension (high blood pressure). They are also likely to develop
cardiovascular disease later in life, according to an international
study released today.
The study, which has been published in the current
issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association,
tracked 3128 people who celebrated their 50th birthday while enrolled in
the well-known Framingham Heart Study, which looks at risk factors for
heart disease.
It was the first study of a large and continuously
monitored group showing the effect of high blood pressure on life
expectancy overall and on life expectancy in people with cardiovascular
disease, heart attack and stroke.
The research showed that people with normal blood
pressure lived five years longer on average than people with high blood
pressure and on average developed cardiovascular disease (or died) 7.2
years later.
The study also found that people with normal blood
pressure developed cardiovascular disease later in life than people with
high blood pressure.
Research team member Dr Anna Peeters, from the
Monash University Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine,
said the study provided clear evidence that preventing high blood
pressure could prolong life and lead to a better quality of life in
later years.
"What is really surprising is the unexpectedly
large number of years difference in life expectancy between those with
hypertension and those without," she said.
"And while those with lower blood pressure lived
longer, they also lived healthier lives."
"So, by preventing hypertension you would have a
much higher life expectancy and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease,"
Dr Peeters said.
The study was based at Erasmus University
Rotterdam, in The Netherlands and involved members from Monash
University, the Federal Knowledge Center for Health Care in Belgium, and
the Scientific Institute of Public Health, Belgium.
The Framingham Heart Study was started in
Massachusetts in 1948 to look at risk factors for heart disease.
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