Is it beneficial to treat hypertension in patients aged 80 years or older?

Abstract

Blood pressure lowering has clear beneficial effects in terms of reducing the risk of stroke, cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in the general population, but it is unclear whether treating hypertension in individuals aged >or=80 years is beneficial. This Practice Point commentary discusses a recent randomized, prospective study by Beckett et al., which found that antihypertensive therapy with indapamide-with or without perindopril--was associated with significant decreases in the rate of death from stroke, rate of heart failure and risk of all--cause mortality in individuals aged 80 years or older. These results indicate that treating hypertension in individuals in this age-group is no longer contraindicated because of a lack of evidence.