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September 24, 2004|Volume 33, Number 4



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Study shows benefits of treating
hypertension in older people

Treatment to lower systolic high blood pressure in older persons is associated with substantial reduction of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, Yale researchers reported in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The Yale team critically reviewed medical literature on systolic blood pressure (SBP) in older individuals between 1966 and 2004. They found strong clinical evidence to support the treatment of people with SBP of at least 160 mm Hg.

"Physicians and patients should pursue treatment of hypertension for SBP in this range," says first author Dr. Sarwat I. Chaudhry, postdoctoral fellow in internal medicine at the School of Medicine and postdoctoral research fellow at the West Haven Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System. "Systolic hypertension in this range is not a consequence of normal aging. The old adage that 'systolic blood pressure equals age plus 100' is outdated and should be abandoned."

Chaudhry and co-authors Dr. JoAnne Micale Foody and Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz concluded that large-scale trials to assess the value of therapy for older patients with SBP 140-159 mm Hg have not been performed.

"Recommendations to treat these patients are based on observational studies that show a graded relationship of cardiovascular risk with increasing SBP, but evidence to prove a benefit of treatment of hypertension in these patients is largely lacking," Chaudhry says. "Therefore, treatment decisions in this group should be more sensitive to patient preferences and tolerance of therapy."

The decision whether to lower blood pressure in older patients is often challenging, Chaudhry says. Although the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure states that a blood pressure of greater than or equal to 140/90 mm Hg warrants pharmacological therapy irrespective of age, no clinical trial evidence is available to demonstrate that reducing a blood pressure of 140-159 mm Hg in older persons improves morbidity or mortality.

"Hypertension treatment decisions, particularly in older persons, must often rely on extrapolations, and fall into a gray area where optimal choice for an individual patient may be unclear and people might choose differently," says Foody. "In these instances, patients must understand the probable outcomes of options; consider the personal value they place on benefits versus risks; and share decision making with their practitioners."

-- By Karen Peart


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Grant to support research on role of viruses in cancer

Series honors graduation of Yale's first Chinese student 150 years ago

Program marks 35th anniversary of Afro-American Cultural Center

Study: Recreational gambling can be good for seniors' health

Yale launches $1 million United Way drive

Symposium to explore past and future of suburbanization

Event honors late historian of American South

New bioscience company at Science Park offering . . .

Exhibit showcases work of long-ignored landscape artist

Mayhew lauded for his studies of party politics

Congress' only Holocaust survivor to discuss . . .

Noted playwright to speak about his life, Jewish religion

Prize-winning poet Adrienne Rich will read from her work

Older marathon runners are making greater strides . . .

Cultivating a culture of trust was topic of inaugural conference

Dwight Hall interns devote the summer to causes in New Haven

Reimbursements now available through direct deposit

IN MEMORIAM

Study shows benefits of treating hypertension in older people

Yale Books in Brief


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