Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026
07:25
Assessing Murine Resistance Artery Function Using Pressure Myography
Published on: June 7, 2013
Hypertensive target-organ damage in the very elderly
Cianán O'Sullivan1, Joe Duggan, Simon Lyons
1Blood Pressure Unit, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. cianan@osullivan.eu.com
Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)
|July 16, 2003
Summary
Hypertension in very elderly individuals is linked to target-organ damage. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) better predicts this damage than conventional monitoring (CBPM).
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cardiology
- Nephrology
Background:
- Uncertainty exists regarding hypertension's impact on cardiovascular health in the very elderly (>80 years).
- Assessing target-organ damage is crucial for understanding hypertension's risks in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hypertension is associated with target-organ damage in individuals over 80, independent of age.
- To determine if ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is superior to conventional blood pressure monitoring (CBPM) in predicting target-organ damage.
Main Methods:
- Echocardiography for left ventricular mass index (LVMI).
- Brain MRI for periventricular hyperintensity (PVH).
- Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements.
- 24-hour ABPM and conventional blood pressure monitoring (CBPM).
Main Results:
- Hypertensive (HT) men showed significantly greater LVMI than normotensive (NT) men.
- Urinary ACR was significantly higher in HT subjects compared to NT subjects.
- ABPM correlated positively with urinary ACR and cerebral PVH, outperforming CBPM in prediction.
Conclusions:
- Hypertension in advanced old age is associated with evidence of target-organ damage.
- ABPM offers improved prediction of target-organ damage in very elderly hypertensive individuals compared to CBPM.
More Related Videos
08:41Assessment of Vascular Tone Responsiveness using Isolated Mesenteric Arteries with a Focus on Modulation by Perivascular Adipose Tissues
Published on: June 3, 2019
05:57The Antihypertensive Effects and Mechanisms of Huotan Jiedu Tongluo Decoction in Rats with H-Type Hypertension
Published on: May 17, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:18Hypertension and Regulation of Blood Pressure
Hypertension, the most common cardiovascular disease, is diagnosed through repeated measurements of elevated blood pressure. Its risks, including damage to the kidney, heart, and brain, are directly proportional to blood pressure levels. Starting from 115/75 mm Hg, the risk of cardiovascular disease doubles with each increment of 20/10 mm Hg. The diagnosis relies on blood pressure measurements, not on patient symptoms, as hypertension is often asymptomatic until end-organ damage is imminent or...
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
01:28Hypertension I: Introduction
Hypertension is a widespread, long-term medical condition where blood pressure in the arteries remains elevated. It is characterized by systolic blood pressure readings of 130 mm Hg or above or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) readings of 80 mm Hg or higher. Unmanaged hypertension poses significant health risks, making the distinction between primary (or essential) hypertension and secondary hypertension crucial, as their management and implications vary.Primary HypertensionPrimary hypertension,...
01:30Hypertension III: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Hypertension is asymptomatic and also referred to as the "silent killer" until it progresses to a severe stage or causes target organ disease. Patients may experience symptoms stemming from the strain on blood vessels and tissues in various organs or the heart's increased workload.Physical exams might show no abnormalities other than high blood pressure. Signs of vascular damage, when present, correspond to the organs supplied by the affected vessels, leading to target organ damage. For...
01:28Diabetic Nephropathy
Definition Diabetic nephropathy is a chronic kidney complication that results from prolonged hyperglycemia.Prevalence It is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide, affecting up to half of individuals with diabetes.Pathophysiology • Sustained hyperglycemia triggers multiple hemodynamic and metabolic changes in the kidney. • Early in the disease, increased renal blood flow and glomerular hyperfiltration occur due to afferent arteriolar...