Systolic pressure is the higher of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading and represents the force exerted on artery walls when the heart contracts and ejects blood. It is measured in millimeters of mercury and, together with diastolic pressure, defines a person's blood pressure; sustained elevation of systolic…
Systolic pressure is the higher of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading and represents the force exerted on artery walls when the heart contracts and ejects blood. It is measured in millimeters of mercury and, together with diastolic pressure, defines a person's blood pressure; sustained elevation of systolic pressure is a defining feature of hypertension and an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Systolic values tend to rise with age as arteries stiffen, and isolated systolic elevation is common in older adults. Because elevated systolic pressure contributes to damage of the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and brain, research links it closely to broader cardiology and hypertension topics. Work in this journal addresses several related areas, including vascular damage assessed by carotid intima-media thickness in newly diagnosed young hypertensive patients, cardiac mechanics in systemic hypertension with preserved ejection fraction studied by speckle-strain imaging, and the prevalence, awareness, and treatment of hypertension in population studies. Additional contributions examine hypertensive crisis and its short-term outcomes, the efficacy and safety of antihypertensive drug combinations, blood-pressure responses during isometric resistance exercise, and the relationship between cardiac function and sleep-disordered breathing. Collectively these studies reflect the clinical importance of monitoring and managing systolic pressure to prevent target-organ damage and cardiovascular events.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 43 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Systolic Pressure, linking to each citing work.