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 effect of antihypertensive treatment on electrocardiogram voltages in the EWPHE trial.
Long-term effects of antihypertensive treatment on various electrocardiogram ( ECG ) voltages and the association between ECG findings at r and omization and subsequent mortality were evaluated in the double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of elderly hypertensive patients , conducted by the European Working Party on High Blood Pressure in the Elderly ( EWPHE ) . Patients were treated with a combination of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene or matching placebo ; methyldopa or placebo was added if blood pressures remained high . RaVL and SV1 + RV5 at r and omization were related to systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) and RaVL was also related to diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) , after adjustment for age , gender , and body mass index ( BMI ) . When adjusted for age and body mass index , the decreases in RaVL and SV1 + RV5 were not correlated with the changes in SBP after 1 year of active treatment but the decreases in SV1 + RV5 were positively related to the fall in DBP . After 4 years of active treatment , the fall in SBP was associated with decreases in RaVL and in SV1 + RV5 , after adjustment for age and changes in BMI
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 .