New advice from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says that in fact doctors should look at the first number. The standard advice used to be that the second, or diastolic, reading was the more important. But new advice today from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute said that in fact doctors should look hard at the first number, the systolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure represents the maximum force exerted by the heart against the blood vessels when it is pumping. Diastolic pressure is measured when the heart relaxes in between beats.
Systolic hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor in heart failure, stroke and kidney failure.
Systolic hypertension interacts with other major risk factors, such as high cholesterol and diabetes, which also increase with age, to amplify the age-related risk of cardiovascular events. The new advisory is published in the journal Hypertension , published by the American Heart Association. Anything higher requires therapy such as drugs or exercise to protect against organ damage. Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved.