Korean J Cerebrovasc Dis.
2002 Mar;4(1):17-22.
Management of Hypertension in Geriatrics
- Affiliations
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- 1Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. tairho@catholic.ac.kr
Abstract
- Hypertension is a very common disorder in the aged persons. There exist several hemodynamic characteristics associated with hypertension in the geriatric population, - decreased elasticity of arterioles due to fibrosis, decreased renin activity, and decreased cardiac output and renal blood flow. Clinically, isolated systolic hypertension, blood pressure variation within a day, and white coat hypertension, are more common in the aged population. Furthermore, aged persons have more chances to suffer other diseases, diabetes, COPD, and renal dysfunction, for example. These characteristics need tailored approaches in diagnosing and managing hypertension in the aged. In the current literature, detailed characteristics of 'geriatric hypertension', are described, including definition, grade of hypertension, importance of treatment of hypertension, complications of hypertension, drug or non-drug treatment, and principles of drug treatment especially in the specific age group.
