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More than 65% of adults who are 65 or older, and more than 70% of those 85 or older have high blood pressure. Getting blood pressure under control -- with medications and other treatments -- can lower risks of heart attacks and related problems which may extend life.

It's vitally important to have your blood pressure checked regularly and to follow your healthcare provider's advice for lowering your blood pressure if it is high. Some research, however, suggests that lowering very old adults' blood pressure too much may boost their risks of depression, thinking problems, falls and strokes, and may shorten their lives.

New Research in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

To learn more, researchers recently studied more than 4,000 patients, all 80 or older, at Veteran's Health Administration clinics. Most were men. All had been diagnosed with high blood pressure -- a blood pressure reading of 140/90 or higher.

Among patients whose blood pressure was under control, those with blood pressure in the "high normal" range were less likely to die during the 5-year course of the study than those with lower blood pressure. "High normal" blood pressure is a reading in the 130/85 to 139/89 range.

These findings suggest that, in very old men, aggressive treatment aimed at lowering high-normal blood pressure even further may cause complications, the researchers report. In these cases, high-normal blood pressure may be better than treatment that is too aggressive. (There were too few women in the study to clarify whether this might be true for women as well, the researchers note.)

Further research to clarify whether this approach is, in fact, best for adults 80 and older is needed, the researchers add.

In the interim, healthcare providers should monitor very old patients who have blood pressures lower than 140/90 for risks of falls, weakness, difficulties thinking and other problems that may be due to blood pressure that has been lowered too much, they write.

What Should I Do?

It's essential that you see your healthcare provider regularly to have your blood pressure checked. If your provider finds that you have high blood pressure, talk to him or her about how aggressively it should be treated. Follow the treatment plan your provider prescribes. This is also essential. Be sure to let him or her know, however, if treatment seems to be causing any side effects, such as dizziness.

For more information about high blood pressure, visit Aging in the Know.

The summary above is from the full report titled, "Blood Pressure and Survival Amongst the Oldest Old." It is in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Volume 55, Issue 3). The report is authored by Daniel J. Oates, MD, MSc; Dan R. Berlowitz, MD, MPH; Mark E. Glickman, PhD; Rebecca A. Silliman, MD, PhD; and Ann M. Borzecki, MD, MPH.