Systolic blood pressure, arterial rigidity, and risk of stroke. The Framingham study

Abstract

Based on prospective data from the Framingham study relating systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, age and pulse-wave configuration to future stroke incidence, it appears that isolated systolic hypertension predisposes to stroke independent of arterial rigidity. The prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension increased with age and with the degree of blunting of the dicrotic notch in the pulse wave. Subjects with isolated systolic hypertension experienced 2-4 times as many strokes as did normotensive persons. While diastolic pressure is related to stroke incidence, in the subject with systolic hypertension, the diastolic component adds little to risk assessment and in men in this subgroup, appears unrelated to stroke incidence.