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Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls.
Each time the heart beats, it is pumping blood into these arteries - resulting in the highest blood pressure when the heart contracts and is pumping the blood. The results of the study were so successful, the study was stopped ahead of schedule, and findings of the study were announced two months before being published. A total of 9,279 men and women over age 55 participated in the study at 129 medical centers in the US, Canada, Mexico, and South America. Participants had diabetes or heart or blood vessel disease, but no heart failure. Those with diabetes also had at least one other risk factor for heart disease or stroke.