Summary
The five components of a good hypertensive therapy for the elderly are:
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1.
Consider therapy if the blood pressure is above 160/90 mm Hg.
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2.
Try non-pharmacological blood pressure reduction. The two most important are weight reduction and a low salt diet. If these means of reducing blood pressure are unsuccessful, determine renin status.
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3.
If renin is low, a good response to diuretics can be expected. If renin values are normal or high, a better response to β-blockers may be expected.
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4.
The diuretic dose should be increased slowly over a period of about 4 weeks until the blood pressure is effectively reduced.
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5.
Watch for signs of cerebral ischemia and control serum K+, glucose, uric acid and lipid status every 3 months.
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© 1987 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
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Kirsten, R., Heintz, B., Nelson, K. (1987). Chronic Diuretic Use in the Elderly. In: Rietbrock, N., Woodcock, B.G. (eds) Clinical Pharmacology in the Aged / Klinische Pharmakologie im Alter. Methods in Clinical Pharmacology, vol 6. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-89728-2_14
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