Conclusions
Principles in the treatment of hypertension in the elderly have much in common with those applying to younger age groups. In particular, there appears to be no cogent reason to withhold active therapy for hypertension in persons in their 8th or 9th decades of life, nor to modify the blood pressure thresholds above which treatment is recommended. Also, the need for careful investigation and treatment for underlying causes of secondary hypertension still applies in older persons. Issues especially requiring prompt separation from mainstream management in the elderly are ‘white coat hypertension’ and hypertension–hypotension syndrome. Sensitivity of the elderly to sodium and to diuretics enhances rather than reduces the value of a thiazide diuretic as the first-line choice in mainstream treatment. The second-line option is either an angiotensin inhibitor (ACE inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker) or a calcium antagonist, depending upon the clinical setting. ISH, the prevalent form of hypertension in the elderly and characterized by arterial stiffness, is often resistant to combination therapy with a thiazide diuretic, angiotensin inhibitor, and calcium antagonist. The deficiency of endothelial NO-dependent vasodilatation that contributes to arterial stiffness may be bypassed by adjunctive treatment with isosorbide mononitrate. An alternative strategy for bringing resistant ISH under control is to add aldactone, a spironolactone diuretic, to existing therapy.