Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure, Pulse Pressure, and Mean Arterial Pressure as Predictors of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Men

We compared systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), stratifying results at age 60 years, when DBP decreases while SBP continues to increase. We prospectively followed 11 150 male physicians with no history of CVD or antihypertensive treatment through the 2-year questionnaire, after which follow-up began. Reported blood pressure was averaged from both the baseline and 2-year questionnaires. During a median follow-up of 10.8 years, there were 905 cases of incident CVD. For men aged