Lower pressure tied to fewer strokes after angioplasty at 80 and up
After angioplasty, blood pressure below 130/80 millimeters of mercury was linked to 3.01 percentage points lower three-year stroke risk than higher readings in patients 80 and older.
8,793 patients
Limit: Discharge blood pressure may not reflect blood pressure throughout follow-up
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
The observational study included 8,793 patients in a Japanese registry who underwent angioplasty, a catheter procedure to restore blood flow through heart arteries. Their average age was 70.1 years, and 77.9% were male. Among them, 1,731 were aged 80 and older; their average age was 83.9, and 65.2% were male.
Researchers compared blood pressure at hospital discharge with later stroke risk. Over a median 2.6 years, 311 patients had a fatal or nonfatal stroke. In patients aged 80 and older, readings below 130/80 millimeters of mercury were associated with a 3.01 percentage point reduction in three-year stroke risk compared with higher readings. There was no clear association in patients younger than 80. The analysis accounted for deaths from causes other than stroke.
Why it matters
Evidence supporting strict blood pressure targets remains limited in very old people with coronary artery disease. The findings bear on whether those targets may offer meaningful stroke prevention even in advanced age.
Caveats
This observational study did not test whether lowering blood pressure reduced stroke risk. Reported as a congress abstract, it covered patients after a heart artery procedure, so the findings do not necessarily apply to older adults without that history.
The paper
Jichi Medical University
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026, Open access
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
