Treatment of hypertension in older persons: what is the evidence?

Evidence for treatment of hypertension in older people is limited to placebo-controlled studies that reduced blood pressure in persons over 60 years who had systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg. Generally, physicians measure blood pressure poorly, failing to look for white coat or masked hypertension, orthostasis, postprandial hypotension, or pseudohypertension. There is evidence that if 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures were obtained, the treatment goal should be substantially lower. Sleep apnea, pain, nocturnal hypoglycemia, drugs, excess aldosterone production, and pheochromocytoma should all be considered as causes of hypertension in older persons. Evidence supports a low-dose diuretic or an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor as appropriate first-line therapies in older persons.