Blood pressure age ranges for community patient care

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (2022) has discussed the importance of people of any age, with even slightly raised blood pressure, to have timely access to antihypertensive medication. Recent research found that the medication can reduce risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in any age up to 85 years, with the trend continuing above this age, although it can be difficult to ascertain outcomes due to the limited sample in this age category.

The NIHR (2022) reports that one in three adults in the UK has hypertension, with many being completely unaware of their condition due to invisibility of high blood pressure as a symptom. The ideal blood pressure should be between 90/60 and 120/80 mmHg. The systolic blood pressure rep-resents the pressure at which the blood is pushed around the body by the heart, and the diastolic is representative of the resistance to blood flow in the vessels (NIHR, 2022). This measurement is so important that even 5 mmHg makes a big difference.