title: Should age determine hypertension management? Recommendations from current guidelines.
abstract: Age is the most powerful of risk factors and is related continuously to systolic BP and cardiovascular disease risk. Yet current guidelines have dichotomized age groups around a cutoff value of 55-60 years and some guidelines now suggest that age should affect diagnostic thresholds and drug choices. These choices are not supported directly by scientific evidence but are based on expert opinion, the value of which is uncertain. This initial topic of the new Controversies in Hypertension series highlights important differences among current U.S., European, and Canadian practice guidelines, then moves on to editorial commentaries with different perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. Electronic address: jizzo@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Izzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, USA.
authors.forename: Sheldon W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Tobe
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods; D002170:Canada; D019468:Disease Management; D005060:Europe; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents