Inside This Issue Does Your Fitness Club Have a Defibrillator? Fast Facts on Preventing Strokes New Way to Look at Blood Pressure Don't Ignore Signs of a Heart Attack Fish Oil for Heart Health Flu Shots May Help Hearts, Too Women and Heart Disease Heart Disease Prevention Survey Planning a Kickoff Prescriptions for Defibrillators Not Required in England
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New data published in the Archives of Internal Medicine bolster evidence that the top number in blood pressure readings is better than the lower number at predicting cardiovascular risk in the elderly--and extends the findings to middle-aged men as well.

The lower, or diastolic, blood pressure reading indicates pressure within blood vessels when the heart relaxes. The upper, or systolic, reading represents pressure when the heart beats. For years, doctors used the diastolic measure to determine the effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs.

In a recent study of 4,714 French men, those with systolic readings of 160 or higher were at double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to men whose systolic numbers were less than 140. There was no increased cardiovascular risk for men with elevated diastolic numbers during an average follow-up period of 14 years.