You may have a heart attack if you have hypertension at this age

High blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease. But if you are in a state of youth, your chances of being even bigger.

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Researchers at Duke University recently conducted a study published by JAMA to investigate hypertension in younger adults based on new blood pressure levels determined by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

In 2017, organizations defined normal blood pressure with 120 or below systolic blood pressure greater than 80 diastolic or less, high blood pressure 120-129 cases less than 80, grade 1 hypertension as 130-139 patients 80-89 years old and grade 2 hypertension 140 or more than 90 or more.

To assess, they tested more than 4,800 adults who had blood pressure measurements before the age of 40. About half of the participants were African-Americans and 55 percent were women. Subsequently, scientists divided subjects into the four groups of blood pressure mentioned above and followed them for about 19 years.

After analyzing the results, they found that people with high blood pressure before the age of 40 are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared with people below the age of 40 who have normal blood pressure. In fact, high blood pressure before the age of 40 was associated with a 3.5-fold increase in heart disease and stroke risk.

"This is the first step in assessing whether high blood pressure, as defined by the new criteria, is one that young people should be concerned about as a potential source of serious problems," said lead author Yuichiro Yano in a statement, "Although this is an observational study, New blood pressure guidelines help identify those who may be at risk for cardiovascular events. "

Now, scientists are hoping to continue research to validate their findings and encourage healthcare providers to better target young people with high blood pressure.

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