Normal Blood Pressure For 65 Yr Old Woman

Postural Or Orthostatic Hypotension

Isolated systolic hypertension – Most common hypertension among elderly

Postural or orthostatic hypotension occurs when your blood pressure falls after a sudden movement. For example, you may feel dizzy or faint after changing posture, such as sitting up from a lying position, or standing up from a sitting position. This may cause you to lose your balance and fall over. You may also feel light-headed, have blurred vision, or lose consciousness.

The symptoms of postural or orthostatic hypotension should only last a few minutes as your blood pressure adjusts to your new position. This type of low blood pressure tends to affect people more as they get older when it can lead to more frequent falls. Similar symptoms may also occur after exercise.

Does Normal Blood Pressure Change With Age

Just as our blood pressure readings change according to our posture, sleep time, and stress levels throughout the day, our blood pressure changes as we age. Despite the fluctuating or changing measurements, we should maintain a normal range. As we age, we can expect changes in our cardiovascular health, including our blood pressure and cholesterol levels. There are several factors that reflect our blood pressure levels over the years, including normal blood pressure for seniors.

Blood Pressure Guidelines For Seniors

The guidelines above are for the general population, but older adults health needs and benchmarks differ from those of younger individuals in many ways because our bodies function less efficiently with age. While 130/80 mmHg is the generic threshold for starting BP medications, there have been many disagreements among medical professionals regarding the threshold for older adults. Age, frailty and other comorbidities like diabetes and chronic kidney disease complicate this matter even further.

The Eighth Joint National Committee issued new blood pressure guidelines for seniors in 2014 recommending that individuals over age 60 aim for a reading below 150/90 mmHg. The JNC 8 recommendation for patients of any age with diabetes or chronic kidney disease is to aim for BP readings below 140/90 mmHg. These are not hard and fast rules, though, because each seniors health needs are unique.

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How Age Affects Blood Pressure

For infants, toddlers, and pre-adolescent aged children, doctors follow separate guidelines and standards to define high blood pressure. Average readings tend to be lower at a younger age and increase as you grow older. During late adolescence doctors typically begin to follow the standard adult guidelines for high blood pressure.

As you age, your risk of developing high blood pressure increases.

Blood pressure charts aren’t commonly broken down by age, however, pediatric charts are often separated into ranges for infants, toddlers, and pre-adolescents. Pediatric standards for high and low blood pressure differ from those used for adults. Sometimes gender can influence readings, but measurements are still compared on the same scale.

What You Should Know About Fluctuating Blood Pressure In The Elderly

As you help monitor your loved ones blood pressure, keep in mind that if numbers fluctuate slightly throughout the day, thats normal. Several factors influence your blood pressure numbers. For example, your blood pressure may be lower if youre resting and higher if youre stressed. This means you may have a normal reading in the morning and an elevated number in the afternoon.

If youre concerned about excessive fluctuation in your loved ones blood pressure numbers, keep the following tips in mind:

Read the instructions to ensure youre using your home blood pressure monitor equipment correctly. Variations in how you measure your loved ones blood pressure can result in different readings.
Bring your home monitor to your next doctors appointment to compare readings.
Be aware of white coat hypertension. In some cases, a persons blood pressure may be high at a doctors office but normal at home. This could be attributed to the stress related to a doctors appointment.

Your loved ones doctor may want you to keep a blood pressure diary with several readings a day for a couple of weeks to monitor any variations.

What Are The Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure In Women

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the inside lining of the arteries. High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when that force increases and stays higher than normal for a period. This condition can damage the blood vessels, heart, brain, and other organs.

Hypertension is often considered a mens health problem, but thats a myth. The in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Gender doesnt usually impact the risk greatly, but the onset of menopause slightly raises the risk of developing high blood pressure.

How To Lower Blood Pressure

If you’re over 70 and have been told that your blood pressure is too high, don’t let the condition’s lack of symptoms keep you from working to get it into a healthy range. Make it a point to:

Review all your medications with your doctor. “Many people will need medication to manage their blood pressure,” Andromalos says. But be sure to tell your doctor about all other prescriptions you may have and any over-the-counter medications that you take, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or decongestants because they can raise your blood pressure, Dr. Vaishnava says.

Move more. Regular, moderate exercise can help you lower your blood pressure, the Mayo Clinic states. Find an activity you enjoy so that you’ll stick with it â cycling, walking, swimming or dancing, for instance. Strength training and high intensity interval training also can help lower your blood pressure.

Lose weight. The higher your body mass, the harder your heart has to work to pump critical blood. Losing even a small amount of weight can help lower your blood pressure, the Mayo Clinic states.

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Hypertension Symptoms And Risks

Risks associated with high blood pressure can become life-threatening if not adequately monitored or addressed .

Most people with high blood pressure, particularly prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension, dont experience any symptoms. Even at stage 2, hypertension may not cause any noticeable effects. Those who do experience symptoms may notice:

Shortness of breath

However, even in the absence of symptoms, the elevated blood pressure is still damaging your blood vessels and heart and can cause serious health complications. Some of the most common include:

Vascular dementia
Peripheral artery disease

For these reasons, regular check-ups along with at-home blood pressure monitoring are necessary to stop progression or reverse some of the damage done.

Normal Blood Pressure Ranges For Older People

What Is A Normal Blood Pressure By Age?

While its true that blood pressure tends to rise as people age, there is no doubt that maintaining lower values is very beneficial. There are two numbers that measure blood pressure systolic and diastolic.

SYSTOLIC:

Measures how much pressure the heart is producing when contracting and pushing out blood.

DIASTOLIC:

Represents the amount of pressure present when the heart is filling with blood in a relaxed state.

Why Seniors Should Watch Out For Over

In my experience, many older adults are taking more BP medication than they need, meaning theyve reached a point at which the risks and burdens outweigh the benefits .

This can cause falls or dizziness due to orthostatic hypotension, and one of the most common medication changes I implement as a geriatrician is the cutting back of blood pressure medications.

If you want to read a longer article that I wrote on this topic, shortly after the December 2013 high blood pressure guidelines were released, see my post at AgingCare.com:

How To Lower Blood Pressure In The Elderly

Seniors dont have to settle for life with hypertension. Making these changes can help lower high blood pressure:

Quit smoking: People who smoke are more likely to have high blood pressure. Its never too late to quit.
Eat healthier: Eating lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as low-fat dairy products and whole grains, can help you lose weight and can lower your blood pressure. Eating less salt and less saturated fat and drinking less alcohol can also help.
Exercise more: Seniors with high blood pressure should get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days if not every day to help lose weight and lower blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about what kind of exercise is most appropriate.
Take medication: If lifestyle changes alone arent enough to bring down your blood pressure, your doctor will prescribe medication as well. Taking blood pressure medication is very common. There are many different types available, including diuretics, beta blockers and ACE inhibitors. Seniors may need to try a few medications , alone or in combination, to find what works best for them.

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Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure In Women

High blood pressure doesnt always cause symptoms. In fact, its sometimes referred to as a silent condition because most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms at all.

Often, symptoms dont appear at all until someone has had high blood pressure for years and the condition has become severe, but even people with severe high blood pressure might have no symptoms at all.

When symptoms do occur, they look the same in everyone and might include:

But these symptoms only occur once elevated blood pressure has caused the damaged blood vessels to break. The only real sign of high blood pressure is getting consistently high blood pressure readings. Thats why its important to have your blood pressure checked at least once a year.

High Blood Pressure Guidelines And Treatments For Seniors

According to the American Heart Association, a reading of 130/80 mmHg or higher constitutes high blood pressure , also known as hypertension. Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, and once it develops, it usually lasts a lifetime.

High blood pressure is called the silent killer because it typically presents with no noticeable symptoms. Some people may not find out they have it until they begin experiencing serious problems with their heart, brain or kidneys. The good news is that medication and lifestyle changes can help lower blood pressure and keep it under control.

How Blood Pressure Was Measured In Sprint

Blood pressure was measured a very careful way that is quite different from the way patients usually have BP measured by their doctors. Heres what they did in SPRINT:

Had people sit down and rest for five minutes before checking BP
Checked BP three times consecutively, using an automated BP monitor
Used the average of those three BP measurements to assess the persons BP and determine whether medications should be adjusted up or down.

Obviously, this is not the experience that most people have in the doctors office, and likely led to lower BP measurements than those taken under usual circumstances.

If you are similar to a SPRINT participant and are thinking of aiming for a lower BP goal, be sure to request that your BP is checked in a similar way. In truth, its a much sounder basis for changing a patients medications, but its not usual care at this time.

Blood Pressure Monitor Vs Blood Pressure Cuff

Blood pressure monitor and blood pressure cuff are two phrases often used to describe the same blood pressure measurement tool. The blood pressure cuff is the element that wraps around either the upper arm, wrist or finger to measure blood pressure. The blood pressure monitor is the element in charge of inflating and deflating the cuff, as well as providing your blood pressure reading on an easy-to-read display.

Most experts recommend using a blood pressure monitor with an upper arm blood pressure cuff for at-home readings because they tend to be more accurate than wrist cuffs and finger cuffs.

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Blood Pressure Readings When Youre Over 70

With guidelines about “healthy” blood pressure changing faster than it takes to get a reading, you may be wondering whether what’s acceptable changes with age. After all, blood pressure does tend to naturally rise as people age. Here’s how to make sense of all the numbers.

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Essentially, your blood pressure should fall within the same range no matter how old you are, says Prachant Vaishnava, MD, an assistant professor in medicine and cardiology and a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The latest guidelines from multiple organizations, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, suggest a blood pressure goal below 120/80 millimeters of mercury regardless of age.

“That means normal blood pressure range for a 70-year-old female should be the same as for a 45-year-old female,” Dr. Vaishnava says.

However, you could be swimming against the tide â many people find their blood pressure rises as they get older. The reason is that blood vessels become less elastic with age and are likely to respond more slowly when you change positions, say from sitting to standing, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Understanding Blood Pressure Measurements

What is normal blood pressure?

Understanding blood pressure numbers is a crucial part of overall well-being. When your heart beats, it moves blood through your body to deliver oxygen and other nutrients. The blood pushes on the walls of the blood vessels as it travels through the body. The force of the blood pressing against the vessel walls is known as blood pressure.

Your blood pressure readings consist of two numbers:

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How Often Should You Get Your Blood Pressure Checked

If your blood pressure is higher than it should be, follow your doctors advice with regard to how often you should check your blood pressure at home. Also find out from your doctor what you should do if your blood pressure readings are higher than usual.

If you dont have high blood pressure, its still important to get it checked regularly, as blood pressure can change over time. Medical experts suggest the following timeline for low risk individuals:

For people between 18 and 40. Get your blood pressure checked at least once every 2 years.
For anyone over 40. Get your blood pressure checked at least once a year.

You may need to have your blood pressure checked more regularly if you:

have a family history of hypertension
have heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease
are overweight or have obesity
have sleep apnea or insomnia

You dont necessarily have to get your blood pressure checked at your doctors office. Some health care clinics do free blood pressure screenings. You may also schedule an appointment at your local pharmacy.

Untreated and uncontrolled high blood pressure can damage your blood vessels and other organs, including your heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain.

Complications of hypertension can include:

How The Review Was Done

The researchers did a systematic review, searching for studies up until September 2016.

They found 21 randomized controlled trials and 3 cohort studies of different blood pressure targets.

The key features of the studies were:

people were 60 years of age or older and had hypertension and
the aim was to lower systolic blood pressure to less than 150 mm Hg or to less than 140 mm Hg.

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What Is Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as the heart pumps blood. When a health care professional measures your blood pressure, they use a blood pressure cuff around your arm that gradually tightens. The results are given in two numbers. The first number, called systolic blood pressure, is the pressure caused by your heart contracting and pushing out blood. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, is the pressure when your heart relaxes and fills with blood.

A blood pressure reading is given as the systolic blood pressure number over the diastolic blood pressure number. Blood pressure levels are classified based on those two numbers.

Low blood pressure, or hypotension, is systolic blood pressure lower than 90 or diastolic blood pressure lower than 60. If you have low blood pressure, you may feel lightheaded, weak, dizzy, or even faint. It can be caused by not getting enough fluids, blood loss, some medical conditions, or medications, including those prescribed for high blood pressure.
Normal blood pressure for most adults is defined as a systolic pressure of less than 120 and a diastolic pressure of less than 80.
Elevated blood pressure is defined as a systolic pressure between 120 and 129 with a diastolic pressure of less than 80.
High blood pressure is defined as 130 or higher for the first number, or 80 or higher for the second number.

What Is A Healthy Blood Pressure

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When the heart is squeezing blood into the arteries, the pressure is high. When the heart is relaxed, the pressure is lower.

Your blood pressure is a measurement taken of the highest reading and the lowest reading . It is given as 2 figures highest over lowest or systolic over diastolic. Blood pressure is measured in mmHg, which refers to millimetres of mercury.

Your blood pressure varies from day to day, even moment to moment. Most doctors would say that a healthy blood pressure is higher than 90/60 mmHg but lower than about 140/90.

What Is Low Blood Pressure

While hypertension can be problematic for your overall health, blood pressure thats too low can also be cause for concern. With that said, the American Heart Association doesnt recognize a specific day-to-day blood pressure reading as too low. Instead, its a matter of what symptoms you may be experiencing due to low blood pressure, how these symptoms affect you and how long they persist.