[Treatment of isolated systolic hypertension in the elderly by general practitioners]

By means of a questionnaire investigation, 150 general practitioners selected at random were asked about how they defined isolated systolic hypertension in elderly individuals, whether they employed medicinal treatment of this patients group and what their reasons for this were. The mean values for the highest systolic blood pressure which were considered to be normal were 175, 185 and 200 mmHg for the age groups 60-69 years, 70-79 years and > or = 80 years. Only approximately one fourth of Danish general practitioners consider medicinal treatment of isolated systolic hypertension and only at a much higher systolic blood pressure level than shown by a corresponding investigation among American doctors where 89% employ treatment for isolated systolic hypertension. On the basis of the present strategy in Denmark and the recent results from the first prospective placebo-controlled investigation of the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension, the future therapeutic strategy is discussed.