title: Hypertensive target-organ damage in the very elderly.
abstract: In people aged >80 years, the so-called very elderly, there is uncertainty about the relation between hypertension and cardiovascular morbidity. The aims of this study were to investigate whether hypertension in people aged >80 years is associated with target-organ damage, over and above the effects of age, and to determine whether ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) could improve on conventional blood pressure monitoring (CBPM) in predicting target-organ damage. Investigations included echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular mass index (LVMI), brain magnetic resonance imaging assessment of periventricular hyperintensity (PVH), urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR), aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), and 24-hour ABPM. Forty-three subjects, at a mean age 84.3 years, were studied, 22 normotensive (NT) and 21 hypertensive (HT). CBP was 184/89 and 145/76 mm Hg in the HT and NT groups, respectively. In men, LVMI was significantly greater in HT subjects, 157+/-37 vs 123+/-15 g/m2 in NT subjects (P<0.05). In women, LVMI was similar in both groups. Urinary ACR was greater in HT than in NT subjects (log ACR, 1.21+/-0.50 vs 0.95+/-0.23; P<0.05). Cerebral PVH grade was higher in the HT subjects (2.6+/-0.8 vs 2.2+/-0.9), although this difference was not significant. Aortic PWV did not differ between the 2 groups. ABPM was positively associated with urinary ACR and cerebral PVH, independent of its correlation with CBPM. In advanced old age, HT is associated with evidence of target-organ damage. ABPM can improve on CBPM in predicting very elderly subjects with HT target-organ damage.
authors.affiliation: Blood Pressure Unit, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. cianan@osullivan.eu.com
authors.forename: Cianán
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duggan
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000175:diagnosis; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014655:Vascular Resistance