age-related treatment thresholds for blood pressure ( BP )
Last reviewed 01/2018
A reanalysis of the Framingham blood pressure and mortality figures suggests that:
- mortality only starts increasing when the systolic blood pressure is above the 70th centile in an age-matched general population
- mortality increases sharply above the 80th centile
- because blood pressure rises with age the treatment threshold (say the 80th centile) also rises with age
The approximate treatment threshold for blood pressure may be calculated using the following equations:
For men the systolic blood pressure at which treatment should be commenced = 110 + (0.67xage)
For women the systolic blood pressure at which treatment should be commenced = 104 + (0.83xage)