The reduction in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was primarily due to a reduction in cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Treating healthy adults 60 years or older with moderate to severe systolic and /or diastolic hypertension with antihypertensive drug therapy reduced all-cause mortality , cardiovascular mortality and morbidity , cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity , and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity .
Most evidence of benefit pertains to a primary prevention population using a thiazide as first-line treatment
BACKGROUND This is the second substantive up date of this review .
It was originally published in 1998 and was previously up date d in 2009 .
Elevated blood pressure ( known as ' hypertension ' ) increases with age - most rapidly over age 60 .
Systolic hypertension is more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease than is diastolic hypertension , and it occurs more commonly in older people .
It is important to know the benefits and harms of antihypertensive treatment for hypertension in this age group , as well as separately for people 60 to 79 years old and people 80 years or older .
The systolic hypertension in the elderly pilot program: methodological issues.
The Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program ( SHEP ) Pilot Study was conducted to determine the feasibility of conducting a long-term placebo-controlled r and omized clinical trial in elderly subjects . Enrolled in the study were 551 men and women between the ages of 60 and 90 years with isolated systolic hypertension ( SBP greater than or equal to 160 mmHg and DBP less than 90 mmHg ) . The study showed that it is possible to recruit old and very old subjects into a clinical trial ; the elderly are good compliers ( drugs and follow-up visits ) , with some decline after the age of 80 ; control of blood pressure was accomplished in the large majority of patients ; evaluation of side effects represents a potential problem as varied complaints increase with age thus creating difficulties in distinguishing those attributed to the study drug ; and finally , cause-specific mortality is probably preferable to all-cause mortality as an end-point in prevention trials of antihypertensive regimens
The reduction in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was primarily due to a reduction in cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Treating healthy adults 60 years or older with moderate to severe systolic and /or diastolic hypertension with antihypertensive drug therapy reduced all-cause mortality , cardiovascular mortality and morbidity , cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity , and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity .
Most evidence of benefit pertains to a primary prevention population using a thiazide as first-line treatment
BACKGROUND This is the second substantive up date of this review .
It was originally published in 1998 and was previously up date d in 2009 .
Elevated blood pressure ( known as ' hypertension ' ) increases with age - most rapidly over age 60 .
Systolic hypertension is more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease than is diastolic hypertension , and it occurs more commonly in older people .
It is important to know the benefits and harms of antihypertensive treatment for hypertension in this age group , as well as separately for people 60 to 79 years old and people 80 years or older .