Management of hypertension in older people

AbstractIntroduction: As the population ages the prevalence of hypertension is increasing. Treatment of hypertension is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular risk. However, the optimal blood pressure targets in older people are not clearly defined due to paucity of randomized clinical trials specific to this age group.Areas covered: We performed a Medline and Embase search from 1998 to present for articles on the management of hypertension in older people published in English language.Expert commentary: The recent guidelines have suggested a lower blood pressure target of less than 130/80mmHg. Due to the heterogeneity of older people, this universal low target may not be applicable to all of them. Targets based on functional level rather than chronological age are more appropriate. Special considerations in older people such as increased prevalence of frailty, falls, dementia, polypharmacy and the predominance of isolated systolic hypertension should also be taken into account. Tighter control, if...