I002: Pattern of systolic blood pressure in untreated essential hypertensive patients aged 55 to 84 years: Gender differences

In a previous study we observed that the pattern in systolic BP in young and middle-aged (from 31 to 45 years) essential hypertensives was different in males (in whom was increasing) and in females, without a significant increase at these decades of age (Am J Hypertens 1997, 10/4: 70A). In the present study we evaluated the pattern of systolic BP in three older untreated groups of essential hypertensives (821 subjects, 345 males—476 females): group I: aged from 55 to 64 years (225 M—245 F), group II, from 65 to 74 years (89 M—176 F), and group III, from 75 to 84 years (31 M—49 F). Patients were untreated or they have stopped previous treatment from at least a 2-week period. All hypertensives, uncomplicated, without renal impairment nor evidence of cardiovascular events, were recruited in about ten years and all of them did a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Systolic BP pattern was different into genders: in fact remained at high level for all considered decades in males, whereas was progressively increasing in females (in whom the cardiovascular ageing was delayed) reaching at the older decades values as high (or more) as (than) in males. Our data seem indicate the positive role in maintaining “younger” as long as possible the cardiovascular system in females for a prevention of future cardiovascular events (i.e. post-menopausal hormone replacement, body mass, endurance training). (See Figure)