Aging and High Blood Pressure: A Guide to Understanding Normal Occurrences
In the quest to manage high blood pressure, it's not just about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Older adults may face additional challenges due to underlying medical conditions and natural changes in the body.
Monitoring blood pressure at home using a low-cost monitor is a practical approach, with twice-daily readings, ideally in the morning and evening, being recommended. However, high blood pressure in older adults can stem from a multitude of factors.
Medical Conditions and their Impact
- Kidney disease and dysfunction can lead to high blood pressure as damaged kidneys retain excess fluid and sodium, increasing blood volume and blood vessel resistance. This creates a cyclical worsening of both kidney function and hypertension.
- Hormonal disorders, such as thyroid dysfunction, Cushing's syndrome, and primary aldosteronism, significantly raise blood pressure and can be overlooked due to symptoms overlapping with primary hypertension.
- Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition causing intermittent drops in oxygen during sleep, leads to stress responses that raise blood pressure, often contributing to resistant hypertension.
- Other diseases like diabetes, autoimmune inflammatory conditions, pregnancy-related hypertension, vascular abnormalities, and hormone-producing tumors may also cause high blood pressure beyond lifestyle causes.
- Genetic factors play a role in blood pressure variability, though they account for a modest portion of overall variance. Gene-environment interactions add complexity to hypertension risk.
- Certain medications and comorbid conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), can indirectly contribute to hypertension due to systemic inflammation and vascular effects.
- Arterial stiffness, a key physiological contributor in seniors, notably elevates blood pressure due to aging-related changes.
Classification and Risks
High blood pressure in older adults is classified as having a systolic pressure of at least 130 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic pressure of at least 80 mm Hg. A systolic blood pressure of 180mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of 110 mmHg was associated with a significantly higher risk of death in people between the ages of 60 and 69 than those between the ages of 70 and 85.
The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people over the age of 40 years see a medical professional to check their blood pressure at least once every 5 years.
Gender and High Blood Pressure
People assigned male at birth are more likely to have high blood pressure before the age of 55 years, while people assigned female at birth are more likely to have high blood pressure after menopause.
Severe Hypertension
Systolic blood pressure at or above 180 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure at or above 120 mmHg is considered severe hypertension.
It's essential to remember that this article does not provide information on potential side effects of blood pressure medication, nor does it discuss how natural ways to lower blood pressure or blood pressure medications were found to help manage high blood pressure.
In some cases, a doctor may also recommend blood pressure medication. For more information on getting a refill for high blood pressure medication in as little as 15 minutes with Optum Now Online Care, please refer to other sources.
High blood pressure runs in some families, and African Americans are at a higher risk of high blood pressure. Aging causes functions to decline in organs throughout the body, leading to natural increases in inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction.
In conclusion, high blood pressure in older adults often arises from a combination of underlying medical conditions affecting kidney function, hormone regulation, respiratory health, genetics, and vascular properties, in addition to lifestyle and age-related changes.
