About Blood Pressure in Seniors

Maintaining a healthy blood pressure is essential to live a long, productive life. Keeping blood pressure numbers within acceptable limits is a must for everyone, but even more so for seniors. Those seniors with blood pressure numbers that are even a little bit above average may suffer a shortened lifespan and decreased quality of life. There are many ways to maintain a healthy blood pressure, including a healthy diet, exercise and living stress-free.

Significance

• Blood pressure numbers play a large part in heart and vascular health. If blood pressure in seniors is too high, it may lead to heart attack or stroke.

Prevention/Solution

• High blood pressure is dependent largely upon a person's genetics. However, even those who are predisposed to higher blood pressure numbers can mitigate their risk by living a healthy lifestyle, limiting unnecessary harmful fats and cholesterol, and getting regular moderate exercise.

Misconceptions

• High blood pressure isn't always caused by negligence on the part of the patient. Seniors may get high blood pressure from genetic and environmental factors, as well as lifestyle factors such as stress.

Diagnosis

• Diagnosing high blood pressure in seniors can be a complicated process. Because high blood pressure can often present as other symptoms such as swelling of the extremities or shortness of breath, doctors must run tests to ensure that the diagnosis is accurate.

Theories/Speculation

• The extent to which genetics affects blood pressure remains largely unknown. It is certain, however, that environmental factors play a large part in the blood pressure of seniors.