7^th Brazilian Guideline of Arterial Hypertension: Chapter 11 – Arterial Hypertension in the elderly

Arterial hypertension is the most common chronic noncommunicable disease among the elderly. Its prevalence increases progressively with aging, AH being considered the major modifiable CVRF in the geriatric population. From the chronological viewpoint, elderly are individuals aged 65 years and older, living in developed countries, or individuals aged 60 years and older, living in developing countries. Within that age group, the very elderly are those in their eighth decade of life.

There is a direct and linear relationship between BP and age, the prevalence of AH being greater than 60% in the age group older than 65 years. The Framingham Study has reported that 90% of the individuals with normal BP levels up to the age of 55 years will develop AH throughout life. In addition, that study has shown that both SBP and DBP, in both sexes, increase up to the age of 60 years, when DBP begins to decrease. Systolic BP, however, continues to increase linearly. The high prevalence of other concomitant RFs in the elderly and the consequent increase in the rate of CV events, in addition to the presence of comorbidities, compound the relevance of AH with aging.

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