WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For middle-aged and older adults at high cardiovascular risk without diabetes, intensive blood pressure (BP) control improves projected survival by six months to three years, according to research published online Feb. 26 in JAMA Cardiology.
Muthiah Vaduganathan, M.D., M.P.H., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues estimated residual life span and potential survival gains in a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial comparing intensive versus standard BP control. Participants were aged 50 years or older, were at high cardiovascular risk, and did not have diabetes. Data were included for 9,361 adults who were enrolled in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.
The researchers found that with intensive versus standard BP control, the mean survival benefits varied from six months to up to three years. The estimated residual survival was 37.3 and 34.4 years with intensive and standard treatment, respectively, at age 50 years. Residual survival was 24.5 and 23.3 years with intensive and standard treatment, respectively, at age 65 years. With age, there was a decrease seen in absolute survival gain, but the relative benefits were consistent (4 to 9 percent).
"These data from the SPRINT trial reinforce that BP control and adherence to BP-lowering treatments, especially when started earlier in life, may meaningfully prolong life span free from cardiovascular disease," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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