Initiating treatment
It has been shown that older people have a high rate of
adverse events if the hypertension is left untreated as
compared to a younger age group (Wei et al, 2013). Older
people also benefit more in risk reduction from lowering of
blood pressure (Franklin, 2012). Effective blood pressure
control drops the risk of stroke by one third for every
10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure (Faraco
and Iadecola, 2013). Daskalopoulou et al (2012) state
that a reduction of blood pressure in older people, with a
systolic reduction by 20 mmHg and a diastolic reduction
by 10 mmHg, has a risk reduction for stroke of 40–50%
and a reduction in coronary heart disease risk of 15–30%.
The treatment option for hypertension is two-fold with
lifestyle interventions and anti-hypertensive medication
if needed.