Study: High BP Early In Life Linked to Heart Failure Later On

Individuals with high blood pressure in their late 20s have an increased risk of developing heart failure at age 50, according to the results of a new study.

In order to assess how elevated blood pressure levels early in life affect cardiovascular health in middle age, researchers conducted a study of 2479 individuals between the ages of 18 and 30, followed from 1985 to 2010.
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Researchers assessed the participants blood pressure levels 7 times over the 25 years of follow up, and after year 25, measured the shape and function of the participants hearts using echocardiographs.

Overall, 135 participants had left ventricular dysfunction at the end of the study.

"Cumulative exposure to blood pressure over 25 years from young adulthood to middle age is associated with incipient left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction in middle age,” they concluded. 

“In early adulthood, diastolic blood pressure control may be of particular importance to prevent left vetricular dysfunction and heart failure."

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Kishi S, Tura GT, Ning H, et al. Cumulative blood pressure in early adulthood and cardiac dysfunction in middle age : the cardia study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2015;65(25):2679–2687