ISOLATED SYSTOLIC HYPERTENSION AND MORTALITY AFTER AGE 60 YEARS: A PROSPECTIVE POPULATION-BASED STUDY

Abstract

Garland, C, E. Barrett-Connor (Department of Community and Family Medicine, U. of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093), L. Suarez and M. H. Criqui. Isolated systolic hypertension and mortality after age 60 years: a prospective population-based study. Am J Epidemiol 1983; 118: 365–76. A total of 165 out of 2636 adults aged 60 years or older (6.3 per cent) in Rancho Bernardo, California, had isolated systolic hypertension with a systolic blood pressure ⩾160 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure 0.10). After adjustment for age and other covariates, male but not female subjects with isolated systolic hypertension experienced an excess risk of death from stroke (relative risk = 4.0, p < 0.10), a relative risk exceeding that seen in men with treated hypertension. Isolated systolic hypertension was unassociated with an excess risk of fatal ischemic heart disease in subjects of either sex in this population. The excess risk of death and stroke is consistent with results published elsewhere, and supports the concept that isolated systolic hypertension is not a benign condition of the elderly. The efficacy and safety of therapeutic intervention in older adults with isolated systolic hypertension remain to be determined.