Figure 1. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures by age and race/ethnicity for men and women, US population 18 years of age and older. (As presented in Figure 3 Burt VL, et al . "Prevalence of Hypertension in the US Adult Population: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1991". Hypertension, Vol. 23, No.3, March, 1995, 305-313.

Men

Age Black 1 White 2 Mexican American Black 1 White 2 Mexican American
18-29 119 119 118 72 71 69
30-39 124 120 120 79 77 76
40-49 129 123 126 82 80 80
50-59 136 129 133 85 80 82
60-69 138 136 142 79 77 80
70-79 142 140 142 76 75 77
80+ 144 143 147 72 73 73

Women

Age Black 1 White 2 Mexican American Black 1 White 2 Mexican American
18-29 108 107 107 66 66 65
30-39 114 111 112 73 71 71
40-49 123 116 119 77 74 74
50-59 132 126 130 78 77 76
60-69 143 134 141 77 74 73
70-79 143 141 144 75 73 70
80+ 145 149 147 74 71 66

SOURCE: CDC, NCHS, NHANES III (1988-91)

1 Excludes Hispanic blacks.

2 Excludes Hispanic whites.

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Figure 2. Relation of systolic and diastolic BP to death from coronary heart disease in MRFIT. Data compiled from more than 316,00 male screenees followed for 12 years. Adapted from Neaton et al. 4

Systolic BP (mm Hg) Diastolic BP (mm Hg) Coronary heart disease death rate per 10,000 person-years
<120 < 70 9
70-74 9
75-79 9
80-89 12
90-99 10
> 100 21
120-139 < 70 12
70-74 13
75-79 13
80-89 14
90-99 17
>100 24
140-159 < 70 25
70-74 25
75-79 25
80-89 25
90-99 26
>100 31
> 160 < 70 81
70-74 38
75-79 44
80-89 35
90-99 37
>100 48

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