Search
Close this search box.
Search

Study sheds new light on effects of lowering blood pressure in elderly

Care systems need to be renewed in order to provide more personal care to patients, instead of giving general advice based upon aggregated information. It’s very important now to begin to look at how electronic medical records and value-based care models can incentivize the health care system to implement this. That at least is what a group of scientists state, based upon a research into the effects of lowering blood pressure with adults over 75.

Dr. Jeff D. Williamson, of the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told Reuters Health in a phone interview that keeping the top blood pressure number below 120 millimeter of mercury (mmHg) led to significantly lower rates of cardiovascular events and deaths from any cause. Up to now studies concluded that bringing the top number – called the systolic pressure – down below 120 mmHg might actually be risky for older individuals. If their blood pressure were too low, they’d be vulnerable to falls and other problems.

These new insights are very important, concludes Williamson, because there’s been a lot of news (about studies) using administrative databases and self report that has indicated to older people that it’s dangerous to treat blood pressure; you might fall more. He says that the new study by the Sticht Center is the most rigorous scientific study to ever look at that and it shows that that’s really not true.

“That’s actually been found the case in other blood pressure studies, but not to this level of detail.” Williamson believes health systems will need to make more accommodation for more accurate assessment of patients, especially in the area of blood pressure. “We can reassure patients, especially from this study, that lowering blood pressure is safe. There were no more serious adverse events or falls among people on intensive blood pressure control versus those on standard control.” Williamson says there’s so much hypertension in older people, that doctors and other health professionals  almost begin to see it as normal. “It can lull us to think this is not practical. The study shows that a lot of people are eligible to have better blood pressure.”

In the Sticht Center study , 1,317 patients were randomly assigned to have their systolic blood pressure brought down with medication until it was 120 mmHg. In another 1,319, doctors tried to achieve a target systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg. Over a period of three years,  the group with the lower blood pressure target had significantly fewer cardiovascular events and fewer deaths.

These conclusions were published earlier the Journal of the American Medical Association. The rate of serious adverse events did not differ between the treatment groups.

Whixx

ICT&health World Conference 2024

Experience the future of healthcare at the ICT&health World Conference from May 14th to 16th, 2024!
Secure your ticket now and immerse yourself in groundbreaking technologies and innovative solutions.
Engage with fellow experts and explore the power of global collaborations.

Share this article!

Read also
Mayo Clinic started with its innovations for its ten million patients and demonstrated that its model worked, and that data could be ethically and responsibly used to drive innovations.
John Halamka: 'Create the Fear of Missing Out'
Balancing regulatory compliance with seamless adoption, healthcare navigates the integration of AI solutions.
A guide to implementing AI in healthcare amid the EU AI Act
AmyWebb-Stephen-Olker
Futurist Amy Webb claims that wearables will evolve into "connectables"
Digital health solutions empower patients to better manage their health and integrate care into their daily lives.
How to improve Digital Patient Engagement to streamline workflows
For people with diabetes, inaccurate blood glucose measurements can lead to errors in diabetes management, including taking the wrong dose of insulin, sulfonylureas, or other medications that can rapidly lower blood glucose.
Smartwatches measuring glucose level: Harmful but easy to buy fake innovations
How to introduce innovation and AI in healthcare organizations if there is no business model for prevention and quality – Our interview with Professor Ran Balicer, the Chief Innovation Officer at Clalit Health Services and founding Director of Clalit Research Institute.
I see no legitimate rationale for delaying the digital transformation in healthcare
Pioneering Cardiac Arrest Detection for Enhanced Survival.
CardioWatch Revolutionizes Cardiac Arrest Detection
Dr. Oscar Díaz-Cambronero, Head of Perioperative Medicine Department at La Fe Hospital, spearheads innovative telemonitoring initiatives revolutionizing patient care
Smartwatches Saving Lives Inside and Outside the Hospital
EIT 2024
EIT Awards 2024. Two European startups are revolutionizing the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
Bertrand Piccard, Swiss explorer and founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation
EIT Summit 2024. What are the trigger points that drive or inhibit innovation?
Follow us