Experts say it’s important to monitor blood pressure in younger adults. Researchers are reporting that hypertension and high cholesterol before age 55 can increase the risk of heart disease later in life.
- They note that this risk remains, even
if the individual takes steps to control these conditions after age 55.
- The researchers said that heart disease
is typically a result of a cumulation of risk factors, including genetics.
However, as people age, genetics play less of a role.
Having high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol before
age 55 can increase the risk of heart
disease, even in people who improve those conditions as they get
older.
Those findings are part a study . published today in
the journal PLOS ONE.
The researchers used a 3-sample randomization analysis of participants
who were registered with the UK Biobank.
There were three
groups in the analysis:
- 136,648 people had high cholesterol
(LDL-C)
- 135,431
people had elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP)
- 24,052
people had coronary heart disease
What researchers learned from heart disease study
The researchers noted that when high LDL-C and SBP could be predicted
based on genetics, there was a risk of coronary heart disease, regardless of
the age of diagnosis.
They also pointed out that those with elevated SBP and LDL-C in early to
midlife were at an increased risk of coronary heart disease, independent of
their SBP and LDL-C levels in later life.
The researchers also noted that coronary heart disease is generally a
result of cumulative exposure to risk factors, such as SBD and LDL-C, and these
can have long-lasting implications on a person’s risk.
They added that the effects of SBP on coronary heart disease diminished
with age, nothing that this could be due to a previous observation . that the effects of
genetic on several diseases begin waning later in life.
In their discussions of study results, the researchers also point out
that their findings are consistent with randomized controlled trials that
suggest the use of blood
pressure medications and statins can
help, even in old age. Despite this, they say the use of statins and blood
pressure medicine often declines with age.
The researchers suggest that treating young individuals with elevated
SBP and/or LDL-C is essential to minimize accumulated exposure throughout their
lives.
“Our findings suggest that old age alone should not be a reason to
withhold otherwise appropriate LDL-C and BP-lowering treatments, because the
effect of genetically mediated LDL-C and SBP on the incident risk of [coronary
heart disease] is consistent throughout life,” they wrote.
Experts weigh in on cholesterol, hypertension study
“We have known that high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol are
risk factors for heart disease,” said Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, an interventional cardiologist and medical
director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical
Center in California who was not involved in the research. “This study examines
the relationship over a long time and adds to our understanding of the
relationship in different age groups.”
“It will not change how I treat my patients as I already treat
hypertension and high cholesterol throughout a person’s lifespan,” Chen
told Medical News Today. “I already treat people under 55 for both high
cholesterol and high blood pressure.”
Dr. Yu-Ming Ni, a cardiologist and
lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast
Medical Center in California who was not involved in the study, agrees that the
research isn’t going to change his overall scope of treatment.
However, Ni said he might be more aggressive in managing cholesterol at
a younger age.
“I might talk to my younger patients who have more chances of making
changes to diet/lifestyle, better explain the risks, and work with them on
changes they can make in their daily lives,” he told Medical News Today.
“As we age, other factors take over, such as smoking, sedentary
lifestyle, and poor
eating habits, and take over the role of genetics,” Ni added. “When
that happens, we need to modify these things to lower our risk of high
cholesterol. This study shows that the longer you have high cholesterol, the
higher your chance of heart disease.”
“I like the studies using the UK Biobank because they have a large pool
of people to draw from,” Ni said. “The results are reliable.”
The researchers noted that their study did have limitations. For
example, the use of antihypertensives and lipid-lowering medications varied
between age groups. To help account for this, the researchers adjusted SBP and
LDL-C based on treatment status.
Risk factors for high blood pressure, cholesterol
Experts say that lifestyle factors play a significant role in both high
cholesterol and blood pressure.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . (CDC), some of the
risk factors for high blood pressure include:
- Unhealthy diet, especially those
that are high in sodium and low in potassium
- Physical inactivity
- Obesity
- Misuse of alcohol
- Smoking or other tobacco use
The CDC .lists risk factors for high
cholesterol as:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Obesity
- Diets high
in saturated and trans fats
- Physical
inactivity
- Smoking
Poor diet, obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking are on both lists.
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