Upper-end of normal blood pressure in middle-aged men can lead to atrial fibrillation
Thursday 19th January 2012
Middle-aged men with upper-end of normal blood pressure are at a higher risk of contracting the common heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (AF).
In the UK, the NHS calculated that 500,000 people have the condition, with around 2.7 million people affected in the US. Doctors and those in locum cardiology work believe that it could be caused by a higher blood pressure.
A team of researchers at the cardiology department at Oslo University Hospital in Ullevaal, Norway already recognised that women with high blood pressure have an elevated chance of getting AF and investigated whether it would have the same effect in men.
The team followed a group of healthy 40 to 59 year-old males for 35 years and found that those with a systolic blood pressure of over 140mm Hg had a 60 per cent increased chance of getting AF.
Irene Grundvold, M.D., lead author of the study and consultant cardiologist at the university, said: "We set out to determine if the same was true for men who are not yet considered. Our results indicate that men with upper-normal blood pressure appear to have a higher risk for AF than men with lower blood pressure."
Written by Alex Franklin-Stortford
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