[Management of elderly hypertensive individuals with hyperlipidemia]

Elderly people with hypertension and hyperlipidemia are regarded as high-risk patients and are supposed to be treated with appropriate drugs. From the evidence of clinical trials, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors and calcium channel blockers would be the first choices, and the combination therapy with diuretics or alpha-blockers would be the next choice. However, since the effect of anti-hypertensive drugs on plasma lipids is much less than that of the lipid-lowering drugs, anti-hypertensive drugs should be chosen in consideration of the patient's complicated diseases, because elderly people are often affected with other more serious complications such as ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, renal dysfunction, and chronic lung disease. If hyperlipidemia remains after anti-hypertensive drugs are used, the use of lipid-lowering drugs such as statins is recommended.