title: A 5-year prospective, observational study of the withdrawal of antihypertensive treatment in elderly people.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe blood pressure, cardiovascular events, and total mortality after withdrawing antihypertensive treatment for elderly patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicentre observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sweden. A 5-year follow-up of 333 elderly hypertensive patients, aged 70-84 years (mean age 75.2 +/- SD 3.8 years, 68% females). In all, 74 out of the 333 patients (22%) died during the study period.
  
  
  METHODS
  After withdrawal of the antihypertensive therapy, all patients started in the untreated state and during the 5-year follow-up they could then either remain in the untreated state, or be reverted to blood-pressure-lowering drug treatment because of hypertension or other diseases, e.g. angina pectoris, oedema, congestive heart failure, etc.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The probability of remaining without treatment for 5 years was estimated to be 20%. During the state of no treatment the patients had a lower total mortality risk than that of the general Swedish population, matched for age and sex. They also had a lower risk of cardiovascular events than those in the treated states. Markers indicating a successful withdrawal were monotherapy in low doses and relatively low blood pressure before withdrawal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that with frequent check-ups, withdrawal of antihypertensive therapy in the elderly can be tried without increased risk of cardiovascular events.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Centre, Lund University, Dalby/Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ekbom
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lindholm
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Odén
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dahlöf
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: P O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Wester
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scherstén
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents