title: Pulse pressure predicts mortality in elderly patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulse pressure (PP) values increase with age. The impact of PP on mortality in elderly patients has not been established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of PP on mortality among very elderly hospitalized patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of 420 inpatients aged >60 (187 males, mean age of 81.4 +/- 7 years) hospitalized in an acute geriatric ward were reviewed. Patients were followed up for a mean of 3.46 +/- 1.87 years. Mortality data were extracted from death certificates. Using relative operating characteristic (ROC) curves, we identified PP of 62.5 mmHg as a cutoff point. Subjects were categorized as having low PP (< or = 62.5 mmHg; N = 116) or high PP (>62.5 mmHg; N = 304).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mortality rate was greater in patients with high PP than in those with low PP. During the follow-up, 201 patients died, 155 patients (51%) in the high PP group and 46 patients (39.7%) in the low PP group (p = 0.038). Pulse pressure was associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.19-2.38, p = 0.003) even after controlling for gender, age, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation and heart rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High PP is an independent predictor of mortality among elderly hospitalized patients.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Ward, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikvah, Israel. avrahamw@clalit.org.il
authors.forename: Avraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boaz
authors.forename: Yichayaou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Beloosesky
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kornowski
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends