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British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1988 Mar 26;296(6626):887–889. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6626.887

Blood pressure and five year survival in the very old

Kari Mattila, Matti Haavisto, Sulo Rajala, Rauno Heikinheimo
PMCID: PMC2546284  PMID: 3129061

Abstract

During 1977-8 we measured blood pressure in 561 old people (83% of those aged 85 or more living in Tampere) and analysed their five year survival according to their blood pressure group. The subjects were divided into six groups on the basis of their blood pressures (from <120 to >200 mm Hg systolic, from <70 to >110 diastolic). The greatest mortality was observed in those in the lowest systolic and lowest diastolic groups. Mortality was least in subjects with systolic pressures of 160 mm Hg or more and diastolic pressures of 90 mm Hg or more.

The most essential finding in this series of the very old was an increased mortality in the lowest blood pressure groups.

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Selected References

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