Epidemiology of hypertension in the elderly.
Blood pressure tends to rise with increasing age. Six to eight per cent of people aged 60-69 years, and about 12-16% of those aged 70-79 years, are estimated to need treatment for raised systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
It seems likely that the rise in blood pressure with increasing age is partly explained by the determinants of blood pressure, such as sodium intake, body weight, physical exercise and alcohol consumption.


RESULTS
There is a linear relationship between the level of diastolic or systolic blood pressure and the risk of stroke or coronary heart disease. However, the relationship between blood pressure and mortality in later life may be obscured if concurrent illness lowers blood pressure; low blood pressure by itself may not be a risk factor for mortality.


METHODS
Randomly allocated trials have consistently shown that the treatment of hypertension in men and women over 60 years of age reduces the incidence of stroke by about 40%, and some trials have also shown reductions in coronary events.
Fletcher
A
A
Department of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.
Bulpitt
C
C
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors