High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke and heart failure.
Researchers theorize that poor control of blood pressure was due in part to lack of use of combination drug therapy and, perhaps, to poor selection of drug classes. Evidence has shown that thiazide diuretics are especially effective in the elderly along with being among the most cost-effective drugs for treating hypertension. In this research only 23 percent of men and 38 percent of women were receiving a thiazide diuretic. The study also showed that doctors were prescribing more expensive drugs, such as ACE inhibitors and other drugs, such as alpha-blockers for blood pressure treatment despite the fact that their effectiveness in controlling blood pressure in the elderly has not been proven.
As to why physicians are not more aggressive in treating high blood pressure in this age group the answers may be that they are often reluctant to initiate aggressive treatment in this age group because they perceive the benefits may be lower and the risks higher. It is also difficult to treat blood pressure effectively if the treatment is started with a higher baseline blood pressure.
Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was lead author on the article. “In light of these findings, and the results from clinical trials, the very elderly may have the most to gain from hypertension treatment. We must make identification, treatment and, when possible, control of hypertension in this age group a national priority,” Lloyd-Jones said.
Thiazide Diuretics include Bendroflumethiazide, Chlorothiazide, Chlorthalidone, Hydrochlorothiazide, Hydroflumethiazide, Methyclothiazide, Metolazone, Polythiazide, Quinethazone, and Trichlormethiazide.
High blood pressure is treated by a combination of medications, diet (weight-loss if needed and salt intake control) and exercise).
