Blood pressure tends to rise with age, but you needn’t shrug it off. Here’s how to get a useful reading, understand the numbers and decide what to do next.
You can feel reasonably fit, get up the stairs without a committee meeting and still have high blood pressure. That is its rather unhelpful trick: it usually has no symptoms.
As you move through your 40s, 50s and early 60s, a reading you last saw years ago tells you little about the one you have now. The useful question is not whether blood pressure rises with age. It is whether yours is staying at a level that puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels.
Often, yes. Arteries tend to become less flexible as we get older, which can push blood pressure up. Age also increases your overall risk of heart attack and stroke. Neither fact means a high reading is simply something to accept, like needing brighter light to read a menu.
Blood pressure is the force of blood against your artery walls. It is written as two numbers, measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg): the top, or systolic, number is the pressure when your heart beats; the bottom, or diastolic, number is the pressure between beats. For example, 130/80 mmHg is said as ‘130 over 80’.
Your age is only part of the picture. Family history, smoking, excess salt, alcohol, inactivity and carrying excess weight can all matter. High blood pressure is also more likely in people of Black African, Black Caribbean or South Asian background. If you have diabetes, kidney disease or another health condition, the conversation about your reading may be different again.
The important distinction is between common and harmless. Blood pressure can creep up without making you feel any different, while sustained high pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart disease and kidney problems. Feeling fine is welcome, but it is not a measurement.
Age may explain why your blood pressure has risen. It does not tell you to ignore it.
For an adult in this age group, a reading of 140/90 mmHg or higher taken by a healthcare professional is usually considered high. For readings taken at home, the usual threshold is an average of 135/85 mmHg or higher. Either number reaching its threshold matters; you do not need both numbers to be high.
The home threshold is lower partly because readings taken in a surgery can be raised by the setting itself. One surprising result, especially after rushing to an appointment, is not a diagnosis. NICE guidance recommends confirming a raised clinic reading with a monitor worn during everyday life, or with a series of properly taken home readings if that is unsuitable.
There is no special ‘it’s fine because you’re 55’ allowance. Nor should you pick a personal target from a chart and decide on treatment yourself. A clinician looks at repeated readings alongside factors such as diabetes, kidney disease and your wider cardiovascular risk. Lifestyle changes matter, but some people also benefit from medicines; that decision deserves a proper discussion, not a verdict from a bathroom gadget.
If you have been prescribed blood pressure medicine, do not change or stop it because of a reading you took at home. Share your results with your GP practice and discuss anything that concerns you.
If you are 40 or over and have not had it checked for more than five years, arrange a check at a GP surgery or pharmacy. Ask sooner if you have concerns or have previously been told your blood pressure is raised. Your GP practice can advise how frequently to check if you already have high blood pressure.
In England, eligible adults aged 40 to 74 who do not have certain existing conditions are offered a free NHS Health Check every five years. It includes blood pressure, but it is not a reason to wait years if you want a reading now. Many pharmacies in England also offer free blood pressure checks for eligible over-40s; check locally first.
The NHS Health Check programme is specific to England. In Scotland, ask your GP practice or pharmacist about a blood pressure check. In Wales, GP practices and some pharmacies offer checks, and local health boards may run their own health-check schemes. In Northern Ireland, ask your GP practice or a local pharmacist whether they offer a check. Do not assume that an English pharmacy offer or invitation applies elsewhere.
If you use a home monitor, choose an independently validated upper-arm device with a cuff that fits. Sit upright with your back supported, feet flat and arm resting on a table. Put the cuff on bare skin, relax and do not talk while it measures. Take a second reading a few minutes later. A reading snatched between a coffee, a dash for the train and an argument with the printer is not especially informative.
If a clinician asks you to monitor at home, follow their instructions. NICE’s method for confirming high blood pressure involves two readings, at least a minute apart, morning and evening for at least four days and ideally seven. The first day’s readings are left out and the rest averaged. Bring the record to your appointment rather than presenting the single highest number as your life story.
Start by making sure it really is persistently high, then make changes you can keep doing. Regular activity helps: the NHS recommends aiming for at least 150 minutes a week. Brisk walking counts, and you can build towards that amount rather than attempting to become a different man by Monday.
Look at salt in the food you buy, not just the salt cellar. Bread, processed meat, sauces and ready meals can contribute more than you expect. If you are above a healthy weight, losing weight can help your blood pressure; judge progress over time rather than treating a single weigh-in as a character assessment. If you smoke, getting help to quit matters for your heart and blood vessels. Keep alcohol within the UK low-risk guideline of no more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
Be sceptical of a watch, app or supplement promising an easy fix. A validated cuff gives you a more useful number than an unverified gadget, and none replaces follow-up when readings remain high. Ask your GP or pharmacist before trying supplements, particularly if you take medicines or have kidney problems.
Contact your GP practice about repeatedly high readings or symptoms that worry you. For urgent advice, use NHS 111 in England and Wales, or NHS 24 on 111 in Scotland; in Northern Ireland, contact your GP out-of-hours service. If you have chest pain that does not go away, or symptoms suggesting a heart attack, call 999. Do not sit at home taking another reading to see whether it improves.
Blood pressure often rises with age, but persistent high readings are not an inevitable or harmless part of midlife. Get it checked if you have not done so recently: 140/90 mmHg or higher in a clinical setting, or an average of 135/85 mmHg or higher at home, needs proper follow-up. Accurate measurements, lasting lifestyle changes and a conversation with your GP practice are worth more than guessing from one number.
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