When you get to be over 50, is it common to have high b.p.?

Bad lifestyle, yes: It is not "common" unless one succumbs to the high sodium, fat and carbohydrate diet without exercise so common in america today. Obestiy and diabetes are major problems which contribute to a "brittle" and aging vascular system which is a progenitor of hypertension.(high b.P.) a sedentary lifestyle and the above factors more than age 50+ is the problem.