Blood pressure target linked to lower risk in men but not women
Achieving a systolic blood pressure below 130 mmHg was linked to a 15% lower risk of serious outcomes in men, but showed no association in women.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational cohort study tracked 55,830 working-age adults, with an average age of 52 years, who started medication for high blood pressure. All participants had an initial systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher, including 17,513 women and 38,317 men. Researchers recorded whether patients achieved a systolic reading below 130 mmHg at a second check-up and tracked deaths, heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure hospitalizations. Among men, 59% reached the target. Men who hit the target had 1.72 events per 100 person-years compared with 2.08 among those who did not, reflecting an adjusted 15% lower risk. Among women, 58% reached the target, with 1.17 events per 100 person-years versus 1.22 in those who did not. After adjustment, reaching the target was not associated with lower risk in women, and the range of likely values included no difference.
Why it matters
Blood pressure typically rises with age, elevating the risk of stroke, heart failure, and premature death. The findings suggest that blood pressure targets meant to prevent age-related cardiovascular damage may need sex-specific consideration rather than a single threshold for everyone.
Caveats
Because the study was observational, it cannot show that hitting the blood pressure target caused the lower risk seen in men. In addition, the findings were presented as a conference abstract that has not yet undergone full peer review, and they may not apply to adults outside working age.
The paper
National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
