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 .
Glucose intolerance during diuretic therapy in elderly hypertensive patients. A second report from the European Working Party on high blood pressure in the elderly (EWPHE).
Five hundred and seven elderly hypertensive patients were followed for 1 year , 371 for 2 years and 270 for 3 years in a double-blind , r and omized , controlled trial in which they received either placebo or 25 - 50 mg hydrochlorothiazide and 50 - 100 mg of triamterene daily . One third of the active treatment group also received 250 mg to 2 g methyldopa daily . After 1 year the active treatment group had an average increase in fasting blood sugar of 2.5 mg/dl compared with an average fall of 1.4 mg/dl in the placebo group ( P = 0.01 ) . The increase in blood sugar 1 hour and 2 hours after 50 g oral glucose tended to be greater in the actively treated group but these increases did not achieve statistical significance . The effects of diuretic treatment were established after one year and did not increase further over the next 2 years . Overall there was an increase in fasting blood sugar of 5 mg/dl in the active treatment group which occurred mainly in the first year . The hyperglycaemic effect of diuretics appeared to be partly or wholly related to potassium loss since , in both groups , impairment of glucose tolerance was most marked in those in whom serum potassium decreased . The measures of blood sugar were also positively related to systolic pressure before and after treatment
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 .