Hypertension General Information NEWS: Happily Marrieds Have Lower Blood Pressure Than Social Singles Hypertension: Just Focus on Systolic Pressure

Hypertension
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Happily Marrieds Have Lower Blood Pressure Than Social Singles

Hypertension: Just Focus on Systolic Pressure in Over-50s “They point out that while systolic pressure rises with age, diastolic pressure increases until around age 50 and falls thereafter. "The use of diastolic pressure for diagnosis and risk stratification in our aging populations has thus become illogical," Williams et al state. They note that clinical trials and national surveys have consistently shown that systolic pressure is much more difficult to control than is diastolic pressure, with control rates for diastolic pressure approaching 100% but lagging at less than 50% for systolic pressure. "Thus, targeting diastolic pressure leaves most patients with uncontrolled systolic pressure. By contrast, if the focus of our treatment were on systolic pressure, there would hardly ever be a circumstance when diastolic pressure was not controlled," they observe. …The authors report that the risk of cardiovascular disease rises continuously as systolic pressure increases from 115 mm Hg, and most national and international guidelines advocate a target for systolic pressure treatment of below 140 mm Hg, and below 130 mm Hg for patients with diabetes and those at increased cardiovascular risk.“

Low-Salt Diet May Not Be Best for Heart “The study, published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, doesn't confirm that a low-salt diet itself is bad for the heart. But it does say that people who eat the least salt suffer from the highest rates of death from cardiac disease. "Our findings suggest that one cannot simply assume, without evidence, that lower salt diets 'can't hurt,' " Cohen said. … Overall, Sesso said, research about the hazards of salt remains mixed. "Patients with normal blood pressure can continue to consume salt, but in moderation and keeping in mind that it is the entire dietary portfolio that matters most." “