Pay Attention to the Treatment and Management of Hypertension in the Elderly

With the acceleration of population aging in China, the number of older people with hypertension is increasing year by year. In general, elderly is defined as ≥65 years old. Compared to middle-aged and young patients, the elderly with hypertension have their own particularity and the cardiovascular events significantly increase. Older patients are more likely to have isolated systolic hypertension, raised pulse pressure, an obvious variation of blood pressure(BP), and associated complications. Therefore, BP control in the elderly presents more difficulties than in younger people. Antihypertensive treatment for older patients should aim to protect target organs and reduce the incidence of cardio-cerebrovascular events. The benefits of BP treatment in older patients will be influenced by the patients' tolerance to treatment and potentially harmful effects of BP-lowering treatment. In order to attain a safe and steady BP-lowering, it is especially important to take individualized treatment strategies based on complete clinical evaluation and careful monitoring of patients. The target BP < 150/90 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) is recommended in older hypertensive patients.