Stage 1 hypertension defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline predicts future cardiovascular events in elderly Chinese individuals.

The 2017 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) hypertension guideline updated stage 1 hypertension defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 130-139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 80-89 mm Hg. However, the impact of 1 hypertension that affects future cardiovascular risk remains unclear among older adults in rural China. The prospective cohort study included 7503 adults aged ≥60 years with complete data and no cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline. Follow-up for the new adverse events was conducted from the end of the baseline survey to the end of the third follow-up survey (2007.01-2017.12). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for blood pressure (BP) classifications and adverse events with normal BP as reference (< 120/80 mm Hg). During the 57 290 person-years follow-up period, 2261 all-cause mortality, 1271 CVD mortality, 1159 stroke, and 347 myocardial infarctions (MI) occurred. Patients with stage 1 hypertension versus normal BP had HRs (95% CI) of 1.068 (0.904-1.261) for all-cause mortality, 1.304 (1.015-1.675) for CVD mortality, 1.449 (1.107-1.899) for stroke, and 1.735 (1.051-2.863) for MI, respectively. In conclusion, among adults aged ≥60 years, stage 1 hypertension revealed an increased hazard of CVD mortality, stroke, and MI, which is complementary evidence for the application of 2017 ACC/AHA hypertension guidelines in an older Chinese population. Therefore, BP control in patients with stage 1 hypertension may be beneficial to reduce the hazard of CVD in elderly Chinese individuals.