title: Treating hypertension in the very elderly-benefits, risks, and future directions, a focus on the hypertension in the very elderly trial.
abstract: Although the number of individuals reaching 80 who are considered to be healthy is increasing, the very elderly are likely to have long-term conditions, to report symptoms and/or be taking at least one regular medication. The impact of antihypertensive treatment has to be taken into account in this context. The treatment regimen in Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial with a goal blood pressure of <150/80 mmHg has been shown to provide benefits in terms of a reduction in risk of total mortality, stroke, and cardiovascular events with potential benefits and no evidence of increased risk for fracture, dementia, depression, and quality-of-life outcomes. Questions remain as to the level of benefit that would be accrued in the frailer elderly and those at extreme age, for example, over 90.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Ageing and Health, Guys' and St Thomas' Foundation NHS Trust, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7EH, UK Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK nigel.beckett@gstt.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beckett
authors.affiliation: Whitby Group Practice, Whitby, UK.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fagard
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bulpitt
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005544:Forecasting; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: Aged; Antihypertensives; Benefit; Elderly; Hypertension; Risk