Patterns of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Old Age and Survival and Health Status at 90

Abstract Background The population age 90 years and older is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. Only recently is it possible to study the factors that portend survival to this age. Methods Among participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study, we studied the association of repeated measures of cardiovascular risk factors measured over 15–23 years of follow-up and not only survival to 90 years of age, but also healthy aging outcomes among the population who reached age 90. We included participants aged 67–75 years at baseline (n = 3,613/5,888) to control for birth cohort effects, and followed participants until death or age 90 (median follow-up = 14.7 years). Results Higher systolic blood pressure was associated with a lower likelihood of survival to age 90, although this association was attenuated at older ages (p-value for interaction