The average person over 70 years of age is expected to live an additional 15.5 years and for those over 85 years of age an additional 7 years. There is a high prevalence of hypertension among United States (US) adults and the 40-year risk of developing hypertension (defined as ≥140/≥90 mm Hg) in adults 45 years of age in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort was nearly 100% for all ethnicities.
1 BP generally increases with age due to sub-optimal lifestyle habits.
In 2017, the American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) hypertension guideline lowered the definition of hypertension to a blood pressure (BP) of ≥130/80 mmHg.
