Hypertension in the elderly - Can we improve results of therapy?

Awareness of and therapy for hypertension in the United States have been in creasing in older patients. Despite this improvement, hypertension continue s to be poorly controlled in this patient population. The control rate, def ined as systolic blood pressure less than 140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pre ssure less than 90 mm Hg, is surprisingly low for older patients, despite a bundant data documenting the reduction of cardiovascular events by treating both systolic-diastolic and isolated systolic hypertension. Comorbid disea ses and physiological alterations in the elderly, including reduced myocard ial contractility, renal function, total body water, baroreceptor responsiv eness, and cognitive function, must be considered, but in general these hav e not limited the effectiveness of antihypertensive drug therapy.