ABSTRACT
Thus in most countries it is observed that BP increases with age. It should be noted that in some primitive societies this association with age has not been observed suggesting that it is not a simple sequelae of aging (25). Longitudinal studies such as the Framingham cohort provide strong evidence for the age-related change in BP. In Framingham systolic BP increased in a linear fashion with age and to a similar degree in both men and women, although men had a consistently higher level than women by about 5 mmHg (26). Different rates of change in BP were seen in the highly screened individuals of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, although again no gender cross over was seen as can be the case in cross-sectional data (27). With regard to diastolic BP this increased to the age of 60 following which it plateaued in both sexes and then tended to decline again reflected the age-related changes mentioned. Given these changes it is obvious that there is a large increase in pulse pressure with age.
