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Little is known about long-term cardiovascular (CV) risks for adolescents with elevated blood pressure (BP). In this retrospective cohort study, researchers examined adverse CV outcomes for nearly 1.4 million healthy Swedish male teenagers (mean age, 18) whose BP was measured in standardized fashion at the time of military conscription. Median follow-up was 35 years.
Key results were as follows:
According to 2017 American College of Cardiology definitions, 17% of conscripts had normal BP (i.e., <120 mm Hg systolic and <80 mm Hg diastolic), 29% had elevated BP but not hypertension (i.e., 120–129 mm Hg systolic and <80 mm Hg diastolic), 35% had stage 1 hypertension, and 19% had stage 2 hypertension.
By age 68, cumulative risk for a composite CV …