Young people who have been pressured for a long time at the upper limit of the norm, in middle age, will face a significant risk of left ventricular dysfunction.

This is reported in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Scientists from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, have observed 2,479 men and women for 25 years, regularly measuring blood pressure and recording the occurrence of certain diseases, and also evaluating the function of the heart at the end of the study.

All participants were part of the well-known study of Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults, or CARDIA. When these people were included in the project (1985-1986), they were all from 18 to 30 years old.

The analysis showed that participants who had a slightly elevated blood pressure in their youth, but remained at the upper limit of the norm, in middle age often have a decreased function of the left ventricle. Recall that left ventricular dysfunction is considered the most common cause of heart failure.

The authors of the study say that young people with this problem should take all possible measures to normalize blood pressure: limit sodium intake, maintain an ideal body weight, remain physically active and follow other recommendations of your doctor.

"Our results confirm the importance of this risk factor.

Many participants who were not considered hypertensive in their youth, but had the maximum permissible blood pressure values, received serious heart problems 25 years after the start of the study, "says Dr. Joao Lima from the Department of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The editor-in-chief of JACC, Dr. Valentin Fuster, went further in his conclusions. He believes that the results of this study make it urgent to monitor the arterial pressure in childhood, especially in obese children.

medbe. en.